A pair of Queens gangbangers were each sentenced to 50 years in prison today for gunning down an innocent 13-year-old boy as he walked home from school.
“Jail is too good for you,” cried Donna Hood, the heartbroken mother of Kevin Miller, who was shot in the back of the head as he was running away from a hail of bullets fired by Gregory Calas, then-16, and Nnonso Ekwegbalu, then-18 in 2009.
“This is unfair! I dropped him off to school that morning and never thought that that would be the last time I saw my son,” said Hood, 39, who second guessed picking up Miller after school because she didn’t want to “embarrass” him.
Miller was only three weeks into his freshmen year at Campus Magnet Humanities and the Arts High School in Cambria Heights on Oct 2, 2009 when a crowd of Bloods gang members were fleeing in his direction from the rival Crips.
“I don’t feel good giving a sentence to young people like you … What were you thinking?!” said Justice Lasak who scolded the two felons for bringing a revolver and a pistol to a fight that “senselessly” killed Miller and injured car wash worker, Pedro Garcia.
Although Miller’s family sat through more than a month-long trial, the cohorts apologized for their actions and Calas admitted that “this is real life and a real life was lost.”
“There is much they can learn, teach or give back — to lock them up and throw away the key isn’t the best way to deal with this tragedy,” said Calas’ attorney Jonathan Latimer, who remorsefully requested not to sentence his client to life in prison.
“I’m angry that you can still grow old, talk to your parents and its unfair that you can still live and go on when you get out of prison,” said Hood about Calas and Ekwegbalu who were convicted last month of manslaughter, instead of a higher murder charge, and may be 71 and 69 years old, respectively, when they’re freed.
After the emotional sentence Hood and her family gathered in a circle to pray for strength for their family.