CLAYTON — Roshawnda Sutton lost her two sons in a fireworks explosion in 2022. They were everything to her, she told a judge Thursday.

"All I had," Sutton said. "My most precious and prized possessions were taken from me that day."

A house explosion near the Black Jack area three years ago killed four people in all: Sutton's sons, Christopher Jones, 17, and his brother William Jones, 21; and two teens who lived up the street, Travell Eason, 16, and his cousin, Damario Cooks, 18.

Two St. Louis men who ran a bootleg fireworks operation were responsible for the explosion. They were each sentenced Thursday to 25 years in prison.

Seneca Mahan and Terrell T. Cooks apologized in court, and Mahan wiped away tears. Both pleaded guilty earlier this year.

Judge Bruce F. Hilton sentenced Mahan an

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