A judge sentenced a 17-year-old boy to 30 days in jail after he pleaded guilty to murder and other crimes.
Santiago Armijo of New Mexico will serve just one month in jail after killing a man. Armijo and a friend fatally shot the man in Albuquerque last year.
The teens were attempting to buy marijuana when Armijo shot Larry DeSantiago, 25, in the chest and killed him. Witnesses said they saw DeSantiago chase the pair to the top of a hill when Armijo fired off a shot and shouted, “That’s what you get!” They then ran away from the scene, but police caught them nearby.
District Court Judge Cristina Jaramillo sentenced Armijo to 30 days in jail and to supervised probation until he turns 21 on Thursday. Jaramillo chose the short jail sentence and treatment over holding Armijo in a juvenile detention center until he turns 21.
“I can only do so much, but, whatever I do, it will not bring back Larry,” Jaramillo said while issuing the sentence. “It will not heal your hearts or the hole that’s left in your hearts. There’s nothing that I can say or do that will help that.”
DeSantiago’s sister, Judith, called the ruling a “slap in the face.”
“It devalued human life and allowed our younger generation to see that it’s OK to commit a crime, because they won’t be held accountable for their actions anyway,” she said. “It also demonstrated why this generation is acting out in our community the way they do, and that’s because our juvenile laws in the state cater to them.”
