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Gunman Sentenced 10 Years After Easter Shooting That Left Bronx Toddler Dead

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- There was high drama in a Bronx courtroom on Wednesday, as two mothers spoke of their sons.

One was murdered, another was convicted of murdering the toddler 10 years ago as he was riding in a car seat. The boy was caught in the crossfire of a street shooting.

On Wednesday, the gunman, Darryl Hemphill, heard his sentence of 25 years to life.

"Twenty-five years to life? Twenty-five years to life?" Barbara Hemphill shouted.

She flew into an impotent rage after being thrown out of the courtroom.

Her son Darryl had just been sentenced to the maximum for the crossfire street killing of a toddler on Easter Sunday.

The victim's mother had just faced the killer inside the court, and praised the verdict while accusing him of cold callousness.

"While you were running, I was picking out a casket for my son. You are a coward in my eyes. He paid the ultimate price for something he had nothing to do with. I will never see his face because of you. I will never hear his voice because of you. All I have left is a picture. You will not forget him. His name will follow you wherever you go," Joanne Pacheco said.

David Pacheco was only 2 when the bullet fatally injured him as his family drove to church that Easter Sunday.

Nicholas Morris was originally arrested for the crime, but was released from prison years later after being cleared by ballistic evidence.

A DNA test on a sweater dropped by the killer led cops to Hemphill who had changed his name and moved to North Carolina.

He continued to insist he is innocent.

"This is a 10-year-old case, and you needed to put an innocent man in jail," Hemphill said.

The judge would have none of it. He said the evidence put Hemphill at the scene. The DNA put him in the killer's clothes, and the fact that he ran and changed his name sealed the deal.

Hemphill's family has vowed an appeal, but they know the odds are long.

"The only thing I can do is send condolences to the family. My brother is gone," Steven Hemphill said.

David Pacheco would have been 12 this coming Easter. His family believes justice has finally been served.

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