One of the three men connected with the shooting death of 11-year-old Brexialee Torres-Ortiz was sentenced Tuesday to 40 years to life in prison.

A jury found Dahviere Griswold guilty last month of murder, attempted murder and weapons charges.

“They hurt me, they hurt my family, they hurt my daughters," said Brexialee's mother Brenlee in the courtroom Tuesday. “It's been a year and a half of having to deal with this, having to explain to my six year old that her sister is not here.”

Griswold declined to address Brexialee's family and community members who gathered in the courtroom for sentencing. 

Torres-Ortiz was killed in a drive-by shooting at the 400 block of Oakwood Avenue in Syracuse in January 2023 as she was walking home from the Food King with a gallon of milk. The shooting happened a few hundred feet from Dr. King Elementary School and about a mile from Syracuse University. Torres-Ortiz was a sixth-grade student at Syracuse STEM at Blodgett. 

“I just hope that other kids looking at them don’t do the same thing," Brenlee Ortiz said. "I know my daughter’s not the last one but I hope her name makes a difference. When they think they can just go out there and do something, please just think about my daughter.” 

Brexialee wasn't the intended target in the shooting. Isael Cruz, 20, who testified in the Griswold trial, was the intended target. 

Two other men charged in connection with Brexialee's death. Deckyse Bridges and Resean Patterson accepted plea deals last year. They both got 25 years to life behind bars.