BOSTON (AP) – A Boston teen was sentenced to life in prison for killing a 31-year-old man who refused to give him money during a robbery attempt.
Jonathan Mejia, 17, was convicted of second-degree murder after shooting John Hammonds to death in September 2001. Prosecutors said Mejia killed Hammonds moments after trying to rob a woman in a wheelchair. They said Mejia, then 15, rode up to Hammonds on his bicycle, then pulled a handgun after Hammonds asked to be left alone and pushed him away.
Mejia shot Hammonds in the leg, elbow and back as he tried to run away, prosecutors said.
Mejia showed no emotion as he was sentenced Wednesday in Suffolk Superior Court.
Olivia Perkins, Hammonds’s mother, told The Boston Globe her son was on his way back from the corner store after picking up a snack.
“It’s still shocking to me,” said Perkins, 61. “My son never caused anyone trouble. He was just walking home. I don’t know why this young man would ever think to do something like this.”
AP-ES-10-09-03 0906EDT
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