Columbia resident Domionte "Racks" Cheatum was sentenced Thursday to 40 years in prison in the fatal shooting of Jefferson City resident Anthony Unger.
A jury previously found Cheatum guilty of second-degree murder, first-degree robbery and armed criminal action.
The prosecuting attorney, Stephanie Morell, recommended that the defendant receive 30 years for each charge with two of the sentences to be served consecutively for a total of 60 years.
The defense attorney, Derek Roe, said that his client maintains his innocence, he has every intent to appeal, and that Cheatum should serve 15 years for all three charges concurrently.
Judge Christine Carpenter sentenced him to 30 years for the murder and robbery concurrently with 10 years for the armed criminal action consecutively.
Before the sentence was handed down, Roe presented motions for a retrial on the grounds that the prosecution shifted the burden of proof to the defense and penalized Cheatum for not testifying. Morell denied the allegations, and Carpenter denied the motions.
Also before the sentencing, the victim's mother and sister spoke to the court, reading prepared statements about how losing their son or brother has affected them.
The victim's sister, Kelly Unger, presented a picture of her brother's 7-year-old daughter and said that it has been one year and 59 days since the child's father, Anthony, was shot. She also mentioned that she had invited Anthony to her wedding, and that in his absence his daughter carried a picture of him in the ceremony.
"I don't believe that Cheatum should be allowed to live for another day outside of a cell," Kelly said near the end of her statement.
Mother Linda Unger said that she can still remember the day that she was told her son was shot. She recalled being sick to the stomach and not able to breathe. She said she mostly will miss her son kissing her head and saying "I love you, Mom." She said she would give anything to have that back.
Roe said that the defense is sorry for the victim's family's loss, but it was not his client who was at fault.
Cheatum, 20, was arrested while being held in the jail on an unrelated warrant for distribution of a controlled substance, according to a Columbia police news release.
Anthony, who was 25 and from Jefferson City, was found in a parking lot on Conley Road in Columbia with six wounds from a .40-caliber handgun on June 23, 2013. He was killed while trying to sell a large amount of marijuana to Cheatum, trial witness Joycelynn Brown said. Police said the shooting occurred about 11:10 p.m.
Cheatum's jury trial in June was emotional: When the guilty verdict was announced, Cheatum's family was shocked. They stood and shouted at a court marshal who had to hold them in the courtroom until the jury had left the building. Their reaction Thursday morning was more reserved.