JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A 14-year-old, who pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the shooting death of a man during an armed robbery at a Springfield gas station last summer, was sentenced Friday to 40 years in prison.
Jeremiah Hill must serve a minimum of 25 years for using a firearm and causing a death, which is what the prosecutor and defense both recommended.
His sentence will run concurrently with a 30-year sentence for attempted murder, a 30-year sentence for armed robbery and possession of a firearm by a juvenile delinquent. He was not eligible to be sentenced to life in prison with no chance at parole, according to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
Jeremiah, who was 13 at the time, admitted to killing 25-year-old Tony Johnson on June 10, 2015, at a BP gas station on North Main Street after meeting to exchange guns.
Jeremiah's cousin, 19-year-old Keyshaun Hill, and a third suspect, 18-year-old Cameron Sneed, were also charged with murder, attempted murder and armed robbery in the shooting death. They are awaiting trial.
Prosecutors said Sneed and the cousins took Johnson's car and drove away.
Johnson's friend was also shot multiple times in the incident, but has recovered.
Jeremiah testified at Friday's sentencing hearing, telling the judge that he's not an evil person.
“I have remorse for the crime that I am involved in, because even though it seemed like I did it, I really didn’t, but I have remorse, because a life was taken,” he said. “He was a grown man, and he had kids, and I feel like I should have some type of punishment for the actions I was involved in.”
Jeremiah faced a maximum sentence of life in prison, but his mother, Valentine Robinson, asked the judge to have mercy on her son.
"Depending on what day it is, he's good, and sometimes, he just flips out," she said.
Robinson said Jeremiah is the oldest of her 11 children, and she had him when she was 17 years old. She said his father was never in his life and is currently in prison.
She said she reached out to police after the shooting, because she was "trying to get (her son) help."
In the end, the judge sentenced Jeremiah to 40 years. He will be eligible for a review hearing in 25 years, when he's 39 years old.
“I don’t feel like he was remorseful at all,” Johnson's uncle, Clifton Mobley said. “He was remorseful, because he wanted that little bit of time. What he got was a little slap on the hand.”
Johnson's mother and cousin said they're just glad Jeremiah won't be "free to kill somebody else."
"It’s just hurtful, because we have to go through this on a daily basis," Johnson's cousin, Yolanda Lawton said. "He has kids. He has a newborn son, Tony Jr. So what do we tell him?"
Jeremiah's sentencing hearing had been scheduled for last month but was postponed because Judge Linda McCallum recused herself.