‘Completely Senseless’: Life Without Parole for White Supremacist Who Went ‘Hunting’ for Any Black Person He Could Find and Killed Black Man In Hate Crime Caught on Video
A white supremacist who murdered a Black man during a racially motivated drive-by shooting in Sacramento last summer was sentenced Friday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Joseph Paul DeMarco, 48, showed no remorse during a nearly 90-minute sentencing hearing in Sacramento Superior Court as he was handed the maximum penalty for the June 2024 murder of 38-year-old James Roseman.
The jury had found DeMarco guilty in February of first-degree murder, with special enhancements for a hate crime and using a firearm.
“You couldn’t see past the color of his beautiful Black skin,” Roseman’s sister, Latrina Davis, told DeMarco during the emotional hearing. “I think about his last breath every single day. I imagine him fighting for his life after watching the video of him standing up after being shot, trying to survive, only to fall again alone on the cold ground.”
The killing occurred on June 9, 2024, in the Arden-Arcade neighborhood of unincorporated Sacramento, a largely residential area dotted with shopping centers and business districts. Authorities said Roseman had been fixing light fuses on his parked car near a check-cashing business when DeMarco opened fire from a vehicle.
The unprovoked shooting was caught on video and described by prosecutors as a racially charged act of domestic terrorism.
Sacramento County Deputy District Attorney Matthew Moore said DeMarco was furious over a robbery he claimed had been committed by a Black man. He then armed himself with a .22 caliber handgun and went “hunting” for any Black person he could find. That night, he fired at two Black men — one survived; Roseman did not.
“I think that really strikes at what is so tragic about this case — that this was completely senseless,” Moore said in court. “James had not done anything to him.”
Prosecutors argued that DeMarco and Roseman had never met, and the defendant’s actions were driven purely by racial animus. The jury also convicted DeMarco of eight additional gun charges, including being a felon in possession of multiple firearms and enhancements for firing from a moving vehicle with intent to kill.
Sacramento Superior Court Judge Maryanne Gilliard called the evidence against DeMarco “overwhelming” and described him as “extremely dangerous, volatile and unstable.”
She cited a disturbing video submitted at trial in which DeMarco was seen hanging a Black baby chick — something he reportedly did because “he believes black chickens and white chickens shouldn’t be together.”
“You heard what his family said. They loved James. You didn’t even know him,” Gilliard scolded DeMarco. “Mr. DeMarco, you took somebody from our community who was loved. The fact of the matter is the jury of your peers found you guilty, and they were right.”
When given four chances to speak, DeMarco refused three times. On the fourth, he simply told the judge: “I’m not guilty, ma’am.”
The judge then pointed out that DeMarco returned to the scene shortly after the murder and recorded a video, adding to her concerns for public safety. “He deserves the full extent of what the law demands,” she said.
Family members described Roseman as a devoted father, son and brother with a hopeful outlook for the future. His mother, Rose Bryant, said she spoke with her son the day before the killing and remembered how optimistic he had been about turning his life around.
“The grief is unbearable,” Bryant said in court. “I may look OK on the outside, but inside I’m torn. I’m tangled in knots, sorrow and loss.”
“You are the reason why our world will never be the same,” Davis told DeMarco. “You are the reason why my parents cry when they think no one is watching.”
The gunshot that killed Roseman was one of at least two fired by DeMarco that night. The other Black man targeted outside a nearby 7-Eleven survived a grazing wound. Prosecutors said DeMarco’s accomplice, who drove the vehicle and later testified without seeking immunity, described DeMarco’s calculated behavior that night, including circling the block to find another victim.
The arsenal of weapons recovered from DeMarco after his arrest included a .22 caliber Ruger handgun used in the shooting, a .50 caliber Conn Valley Arms rifle, a .45 caliber Lyman Gun Company Plains rifle, a .50 caliber Traditions Inc. Kentucky model handgun, a .22 Savage Arms rifle, and a .22 caliber Remington rifle. DeMarco had previously been convicted in 2014 of making criminal threats—a felony that barred him from owning firearms.
“This was never about self-defense or mistaken identity,” Moore said. “This was an act of hate.”
Roseman’s cousin, Detuawn Dixon, said the murder defied comprehension. “For something like that just to happen, that is kind of just mind-boggling,” he said.
Even with the guilty verdict and life sentence, Roseman’s loved ones said the pain is far from over. “After June 8, I am not the same anymore,” Bryant said. “You cannot close the book to that. You just cannot brush it off.”
“They’re not wearing a Klan’s hat anymore,” she added. “You have to be aware of your surroundings.”
DeMarco remains in custody at the Sacramento County Main Jail and will soon be transferred to a California state prison.