A Blue Summit woman was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in prison for killing her boyfriend two years ago.
Sarah Devera, 29, was arrested in February 2021 in connection with the fatal shooting of Zachary W. Jewell, 31. She was initially charged with second-degree murder and in January pleaded guilty to the lesser felony offense of voluntary manslaughter.
On Thursday, Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Marco A. Roldan followed a recommendation from prosecutors that Devera serve the maximum amount of prison time outlined under state law. Her defense attorney sought an eight-year sentence, according to prosecutors.
The shooting occurred on Feb. 12, 2021 in Blue Summit, a small and unincorporated community in Jackson County that sits between Kansas City and Independence.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office opened an investigation after Jewell was dropped off at the Inter City Fire Protection District Station and later died.
According to court documents, family members of Jewell told Jackson County Sheriff’s deputies that they were at Inner City Fire when they heard someone banging on the door. They said they went outside to find Devera repeating “I shot him” and Jewell inside her red pickup truck suffering from a gunshot wound.
Witnesses and video surveillance confirmed the shooting took place near the 1800 block of Tilden in Blue Summit. Devera was arrested the following day at a motel in south Kansas City.
During a police interview, Devera allegedly said she shot Jewell during a physical fight because she saw him reaching toward his pocket and believed Jewell was armed with a gun. She also accused him of past abuse.