Minneapolis man gets 6 years in prison for killing toddler, abusing infant brother

A Minneapolis man was sentenced Tuesday to more than six years in prison for beating a 2-year-old boy to death and seriously injuring the toddler's infant brother.

Otis Lee Jackson, 30, pleaded guilty last month in Hennepin County District Court to amended charges of first-degree manslaughter and one felony count of malicious punishment of a child. Prosecutors initially charged him with second-degree murder. The plea deal called for a downward departure from sentencing guidelines, with a range of roughly five to seven years. District Judge Jay Quam sentenced Jackson to six years and two months.

Ona'Je Prince Sincere Jackson died of multiple blunt force injuries on May 4, 2022. His baby brother had similar injuries and also tested positive for fentanyl, according to the charges that allege Otis Jackson has a history of child abuse dating back to his teen years.

Nearly a year after the killing, the Hennepin County Attorney's Office filed charges against Jackson and the children's mother, Navonna Latina West, 26, of child endangerment. In February, West entered a guilty plea and agreed to serve up to a year in the county workhouse and three years of probation.

Jackson was convicted of assaulting West in 2019, when she was pregnant with Ona'Je.

Charges against Jackson say that when Minneapolis police responded to a home on a report of a child not breathing, West was attempting CPR on Ona'Je. The toddler died at the hospital where officers saw he was scratched and bruised.

His death was ruled a homicide and officers brought in his baby brother to be examined. It was determined the baby suffered burns, bruising and rib fractures.

In the days leading up to the toddler's death, West noticed her older son was "very weak, had bruises on his side and behind his ear and was throwing up," charges say. When she noticed burns on the 4-month-old's stomach, she asked Jackson if he accidentally burned him with a cigarette. He said he didn't know, charges say.

Charges say that when Jackson was 14 years old, he also burned a 2-month-old child.

West did not press Jackson for more information "because she knew it would turn into an argument where [he] would physically assault her," charges say.

Jackson began to work his way back into West's life after he was released from prison for assaulting her. She admitted she did not take steps to leave Jackson and instead continued her relationship with Jackson until her son's death.