EXCLUSIVE: Mother of teen guilty of attempted murder speaks out

EXCLUSIVE: Mother of teen guilty of attempted murder speaks out

Teen could be facing more than 40-years in adult prison.

17-year-old iyon erves was found guilty of attempted murder after a shooting outside tippecanoe mall., it happened back in december of 2019.

His sentencing was scheduled for today but the judge has allowed him more time.

Today, we got an exclusive interview with his mother.

News 18's micah upshaw shares the story.

Nat: iyon erves dancing with grandpa.

K: iyon, he is a kind person, he cares about other people, he's always been that friend that you know, took up for other people that was getting picked on.

M: this is how keya erves is remembering her son despite the court's decision.

M: talk about your reaction to, what you heard when the judge said he is guilty.

K: i mean i got tunnel vision, it was dark, i didn't even hear the rest, i was in shock, i just--i couldn't feel anything.

M: iyon was found guilty on six charges -- the most severe one being attempted murder.

According to court documents, he fired a few rounds outside the tippecanoe mall during a fight with another teen.

Multiple witnesses say he was aiming his gun at someone.

K: my kid, he did make a mistake, he made a mistake.

But i think, you know, we all have made mistakes but i do believe he deserves a second chance.

Nat: baby photos k: i had to cancel all our college meetings and just for him to, you know, visit the campus and all of that hurt and that's what we were supposed to do when he turned 17, that was what we were looking forward to.

M: it was iyon's dream to play professional football.

And keya's dream to leave her kids better off than herself.

K: since i had him, my mission was to provide and not let him be a statistic, i wanted him -- i've changed my life, i did things, i've learned generational wealth and all this stuff because i wanted to pass that on and to let my kids know that you don't have to be statistic.

M: according to a department of justice study taken in 2015, black youth are more than five times as likely to be detained or committed compared to other youth.

Nat: keya says she and iyon have always been close but she wishes she knew the extent of what he was facing.

Witnesses shared in court that issues over social-media may have played a role in the mall confrontation.

K: when all this was happening, i didn't know how bad it was on social-media.

He stopped coming -- he would come in the house and come straight in my room he would play with his sister, you know, jump on my bed sometimes, you know he stopped doing that he started going strait to his room.

M: keya's received support from hundreds of friends and family members since the start of the trial.

Nat: keya reading letters.

M: she's hoping it'll make a difference come sentencing day next month, k: steady getting these college letters in the mail with his name and it doesn't even matter.

It doesn't even matter.

I just don't want this to change him or who he is, you know, the type of person that he is.

M: reporting in lafayette, micah upshaw, news 18.

Erves' sentencing has been pushed back to september 11th.

We will continue following the case on air and on our website wlfi.com.

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