Four months after he drove drunk, hit and killed two girls, Laramie Huntzinger stood before their families and tearfully told them he was sorry.
"I would burn in hell for eternal life to ease the pain of these families," the 16-year-old said Thursday during his sentencing. "I would do anything to bring those girls back."After being found guilty Monday of two counts of automobile homicide, 3rd District Juvenile Court Judge Arthur G. Christean sentenced Huntzinger on Thursday to a lockup juvenile facility for an undetermined time - not to exceed his 21st birthday.
Christean also ordered the teen to receive alcohol and drug counseling and perform 300 hours of community service educating high-risk youths about substance abuse.
Huntzinger recognized that he will live with what happened for the rest of his life, noting that he - not the justice system - will decide what he becomes.
"It doesn't matter what the law gives to anybody," he said before his sentencing. "It's what you give to yourself."In a powerful, tear-filled hearing, families of the victims, as well as Huntzinger's mother, father and brother spoke to Christean about the accident that killed Elizabeth Phillips and Jennifer Neddo and critically injured Jamie Cogswell on Aug. 10.
Clara Neddo remembered her only daughter, born after five sons.
"What good times we had together. What fun we had," Neddo said. "I'm ever saddened by the loss of my daughter, and I will never, ever get over it. But Laramie deserves a chance to have something in his life."
Neddo asked Huntzinger to write her letters and to make something good come of the tragedy.
Christean said he would not order Huntzinger to write to Neddo, because doing it on his own would mean more to them both.
Under Christean's order, the length of Huntzinger's sentence will be at the discretion of the juvenile Board of Pardons, which will monitor his progress.
Prosecutor Rod Ybarra said the length of the sentence probably won't be determined for at least 18 months to give juvenile officials a chance to determine what is best for Huntzinger.
Huntzinger will remain in juvenile detention until it is determined which secured facility he will be sent to.
Huntzinger was convicted of driving drunk Aug. 10 and hitting three girls who were walking on the sidewalk. Witnesses testified he also had marijuana in his system and had no driver's license.
Defense attorney Ron Yengich said he acknowledges the judge's decision and believes in Hunt-zinger. But he has reservations about a long-term lockup.
"Time in and of itself does not cure anybody. It doesn't make anybody better," Yengich said. "Help is what's important. Time is not."
After the sentencing, Mary Phillips said she was not seeking revenge for her daughter's death, but society demands that justice - and time - be served.
"All I heard today was a lot of denial," she said. "Having been given a life sentence (in Elizabeth's death), I think a few years in a detention center is not too much to ask."
Yengich had asked for leniency for Huntzinger, who he said is just a 16-year-old child. But, Christean said, Huntzinger already had been shown compassion when he was charged as a juvenile rather than an adult.
Huntzinger's mother, Noreen, said the sentence was harsh, but "we all know Laramie has made a big mistake."
Cody Huntzinger, who sat behind his younger brother throughout the trial, said the judgment was fair and may help Huntzinger make retribution to the victim's families.
"He is a really good kid. He's not the monster people have made him out to be," Cody Huntzinger said. "He's very remorseful."