'All murders are senseless,' prosecutors said. 'This is about as senseless as it gets.'
Charmyne Mason (center) sister of Charles Carter, walks outside Onondaga County Court with other members of her family today after Carter's killer, Ikeem Mitchell, was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison. Mason spoke for the family during the sentencing. Syracuse, NY – Ikeem Mitchell was 19 when he shot and killed Charles Carter Jr. on a Syracuse street.
He will be 57 before a parole board gets to consider whether to release him from prison.
Mitchell, still 19, was sentenced this morning in Onondaga County Court to serve 25 years to life in prison for murdering Carter, a 22-year-old Syracuse resident who was a stranger to him.
Judge Anthony F. Aloi added a 15-year sentence, to be served consecutively, for the criminal possession of a weapon charge for which Mitchell also was convicted.
Members of Carter’s family broke down in sobs after Aloi handed down the sentence. Mitchell left the court, head bowed, as he was taken back to jail. He did not speak in court.
Mitchell was convicted Oct. 6 of second-degree murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. Authorities said he shot Carter, of Parkway Drive, as he was walking about 1 p.m. March 26 in the 1100 block of South Townsend Street.
Carter wasn’t a gang member and he wasn’t a bad kid, his sister, Charmyne Mason, told Aloi this morning.
“He wasn’t coming from the liquor store. He was coming from getting his hair cut,” Mason said.
He left behind his mother, three grieving sisters, and nieces and nephews he loved, she said. He never had the chance to have his own children, Mason added.
Senior Assistant District Attorney Robert Duncanson struggled to hold back tears as spoke to Aloi about the grief Mitchell brought to Carter’s family, the senseless violence the shooting represented, and the loss of so many fathers in the community to murder and prison.
He asked Aloi to sentence Mitchell to the consecutive terms to punish him, prevent him from committing future street crimes and to send a message to Syracuse's gang culture.
“Too many children are growing up in fear … because of this kind of senseless violence,” Duncanson said. “When is it going to stop?”
Ikeem Mitchell stands in Onondaga County Court today for his sentencing in the shooting of Charles Carter Jr. Mitchell’s lawyer, Michael Spano, appealed to Aloi to keep Mitchell’s youth, his drug use and the fact he had been on his own since age 12 in mind when imposing a sentence.
Having his client serve consecutive terms “would foreclose any chance of rehabilitation,” Spano said. The parole board could decide after 25 years whether Mitchell should remain in prison, he said.
“What about Charles Carter’s opportunities? They’re gone. He’s dead,” Aloi said when he rendered sentence.
Mitchell shot Carter in retaliation for another man’s death the day before, not because Carter had committed that crime but because he had been seen hanging around with a groups of people disliked by Mitchell's group, Aloi said.
He did not know Carter and shot him in the back, the judge said. Mitchell is not a hero and he and anyone who might admire his act are cowards, Aloi said.
”I am going to punish you for what you have done. If it deters others, so be it,” Aloi said. “Mr. Carter is dead. His family has lost him forever. You should spend the rest of your life in prison for what you have done.”
Spano said he planned to appeal Mitchell’s conviction and sentence.
Although the sentences add up to a minimum of 40 years, Mitchell would only have to serve six-sevenths of the 15-year sentence on the gun charge, Duncanson said. That would make him eligible for parole after about 38 years, he said.
Duncanson said it was more difficult than usual in this case to keep his emotions in check at sentencing.
“All murders are senseless,” he said outside court. “This is about as senseless as it gets.”