A teen who shot a sleeping man to death when he was just 17 years old will serve the next  35 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder on Friday.
Sam Brinkley, now 18, received the sentence, which is to be served at 100 percent. Considering he has already served one year in jail, time which will go to his credit, Brinkley will be released at age 52 if he does in fact serve his full term.
Brinkley shot to death Oswaldo Luna, 43, as he slept in his trailer in Mt. Leo. Five other youths were involved in varying degrees in the crime and they have already taken plea deals ranging from one year in jail to 18 years. Brinkley received the most time because he pulled the trigger.
The youths, all from Coffee County, came here to rob Luna of marijuana.
"No one wins in a case like this," said District Attorney General Lisa Zavogiannis. "It's concerning when you have people this age involved in a crime where someone loses their life. You don't want the fact that they are really young to stand in the way of justice and we didn't in this case. I think the sentences were fair, if you can use the word fair to describe a case like this."
Luna was killed in January of 2016. The six youths, all under 21 at the time, were all questioned shortly after his murder when they were found by law enforcement at a nearby car wash in the wee hours of a chilly night. They all confessed upon questioning.
Two of the six have already been released from jail after serving their one-year sentences.