Samuel Paul Krokaugger will spend a long time behind bars to pay for his summer of violence.
He shot and killed one man while driving on I-15. He shot and killed another man during a drug-related robbery.
And he chased after a woman and shot her in the head because the woman threw water balloons at a house party he was attending.
Friday, the 19-year-old was sentenced for all three crimes and was ordered to serve at least 19 years in prison.
Angela Brainich, whose son was killed in the robbery, said Krokaugger's depraved violence robbed her of a son who was "my sunshine, my joy, my life." She told the judge and a packed courtroom that Krokaugger should never be free because he would certainly kill again and destroy another family.
"My only consolation is knowing my son's killer's soul will burn for eternity," she said, weeping.
Krokaugger was sentenced to 15-years-to-life for first-degree felony murder, two-to-20-years for second-degree felony manslaughter, and two-to-20-years for aggravated assault, a second-degree felony.
Third District Judge Judith Atherton ordered Krokaugger to serve each sentence consecutively.
"These offenses were senseless to the point of numbing," Atherton told Krokaugger, who showed no emotion in court. "It is difficult for most of us to even get a sense of what drove you to do this."
Prosecutors in 2007 were contemplating charging Krokaugger with capital murder. At one point, he had four separate cases with multiple felonies lodged against him.
In time, Krokaugger entered into a complex plea bargain that resulted in one murder charge for killing Luis Trujillo, 17, being reduced to manslaughter, and an attempted murder charge for shooting Kasey Ketron in the head changed to aggravated assault.
The plea deal included dismissal of several other felonies associated with attempted murder, drive-by shootings, illegal gun possession, obstruction of justice and aggravated robbery.
The plea bargain includes:
• Krokaugger pleading guilty to murder, a first-degree felony, for shooting and killing Aaron Wheelwright, 20, on June 29, 2007 during what police describe as the drug-related robbery of a different man engineered by Krokaugger. Wheelwright was killed when the deal went terribly wrong.
• Krokaugger pleading guilty to manslaughter, a second-degree felony, for fatally shooting Trujillo on June 24, 2007 while Trujillo was a passenger in another car traveling down I-15.
• Krokaugger pleading guilty to aggravated assault, a second-degree felony, for shooting Ketron in the head after she apparently enraged him when she threw water balloons from a car at people attending a party. Krokaugger chased the vehicle she was in and fired. Ketron was hurt, but survived.
Ketron, who has since recovered, said she is getting married soon and wants Krokaugger's case to be over so she doesn't have to spend the rest of her life worrying that he will get out of prison.
Trujillo's mother, who did not give her name, also sobbed as she told the judge in Spanish through an interpreter that her family, too, has been shattered by her son's murder.
"All our dreams came to an end and now there is no happiness," she said.
After describing her son's life and the joy he brought her, she gave thanks to God in a lengthy prayer for the time she was able to enjoy her son's presence on Earth and all the good qualities he embodied.
"Goodbye, friend," she said, wiping away tears.
E-mail: lindat@desnews.com