Bronx Family, City Officials Outraged After Gunman Who Shot 5-Year-Old Gets 10-Year Sentence
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - The sentence for the man who shot a boy on his fifth birthday, is ten years in prison.
A stray bullet hit Jaheem Hunter outside a Bronx deli in 2017.
MORE: Bronx Boy Shot In The Head On 5th Birthday Amazes Doctors With 'Remarkable' Recovery
Jaheem suffered brain damage, but has made amazing strides since the shooting. That's little comfort for his family, who says the justice system failed him with Wednesday's sentence.
"My kid is messed up for the rest of his life," Charles Hunter, Jaheem's father said.
It happened in June of 2017 at 167th Street and Washington Avenue. Prosecutors claim that 27-year-old Michael Quiles opened fire after an argument with men armed with knives.
"You should not have the right to shoot a gun off and shoot a baby," grandmother Barbara Holmes said.
The charges against Quiles included attempted murder, but a Bronx jury acquitted him on that charge, and only convicted him of weapons possession.
In court, Quiles said he was sorry for what happened and the judge sentenced him to ten years in prison for the shooting.
"Ten years is not certainly not enough for the long-term pain and suffering that Jaheem and his family continue to endure,"
Bronx City Councilwoman Vanessa Gibson said.
The sentence was also not long enough for an apparently frustrated Bronx DA Darcel Clark, who wanted the max of 15 years.
The DA refused to speak with CBS2's Dick Brennan following the sentencing.
The boy's family says Jaheem is still recovering.
"He still has the plate in his head. He'll have that the rest of his life and his short-term memory is not that great," aunt Michelle Holmes added.
The struggle goes on for a little boy, two years after his fateful fifth birthday.
