Young Man Gets Life Without Parole In Pizza Delivery Man's Slaying
FLINT (WWJ/AP) - A young Flint man convicted of the fatal shooting of a pizza delivery man has been sentenced to life in prison without parole.
The sentencing phase of Juwan Wickware's first-degree murder case was unusual because he was 16-years-old when Michael Nettles, 33, was killed. The U.S. Supreme Court last year said teens can't automatically get mandatory no-parole sentences.
Genesee County Judge Archie Hayman held two days of hearings about Wickware's mental status, criminal history and childhood. Wickware's attorney says he was virtually abandoned by his father and raised by a mother who struggled to provide for him and three siblings.
Still, Hayman came to the conclusion a no-parole sentence was appropriate, saying Wickware, who is now 19-years-old, was "in the thick" of Nettles' robbery and slaying.
Nettles, a father of three, was robbed and killed around 9 p.m. April 7, 2010 while delivering a pizza to a home near the corner of Sonny Avenue and Sterling Street. He was shot eight times.
Wickware is one of four teens charged in the case.
Antonio Clark, 19, was sentenced in April to 18 to 27 years in prison for his role in the crime after earlier pleading guilty to second-degree murder and felony firearm charges. Police say Clark supplied the weapon that was used to kill Nettles.
Quantageah Penegar pleaded guilty two years ago to armed robbery and conspiracy to commit armed robbery and agreed to testify against her co-defendants. She is serving up to 28 years, four months in prison.
Jurors found another defendant, Donqua Williams, not guilty.
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