| By Curt and Jamila Hayman (Chief Editors),
on Wednesday Jul, 02 2008 11:41:23 am MST
|
An Indianapolis man was sentenced to 45 years in prison today for firing a stray bullet that killed a young mother and her unborn son.
Jeffrey Whitsey, 19, maintains he didn't fire the shots in March 2007 during a fight involving a crowd of people in a parking lot in a Far Eastside apartment complex. A bullet broke through an apartment window and struck Jamitra Mitchell, 22, in the forehead, killing her just hours after she and her three young children had moved in.
A Marion Superior Court judge found Whitsey guilty of two counts of murder and a handgun violation last month.
This morning, Judge Patricia Gifford gave Whitsey 45 years in prison for each of the deaths but said the sentences would run concurrently. She cited his blank criminal history as a juvenile and an adult and his remorse for the deaths -- even as he maintains his innocence -- as strong factors.
Mitchell was seven months pregnant and had moved to Amber Woods Apartments near 38th Street and Mitthoefer Road seeking a safer neighborhood. Lillie Vaughn-Butler, Mitchell's mother, is now raising the three children, all 5 or younger.
She said outside court that Whitsey's sentence was sufficient.
"I just wanted to see justice served, as long as he pays for what he did," Vaughn-Butler said. "He did something stupid. It's sad he didn't have anyone to teach him right from wrong."
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Last update: Wednesday Jul, 02 2008 11:41:23 am MST
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