Gunman Who Killed EMU Football Player Gets 18-30 Years In Prison
ANN ARBOR (CBS Detroit/AP) - A 20-year-old man who confessed to robbing and killing Eastern Michigan University wide receiver Demarius Reed has been sentenced to 18 to 30 years in prison.
Kristopher Pratt apologized to the family of the Chicago native before Washtenaw County trial Judge Donald Shelton issued the sentence Tuesday.
Pratt pleaded guilty to second-degree murder as part of a deal that required him to testify against 21-year-old co-defendant Ed Thomas, who refused to plead.
A jury acquitted Thomas of murder and other charges on July 28.
Pratt says he shot Reed and that Thomas participated in the robbery where Reed lived in the off-campus University Green apartments on Green Road in Ypsilanti, Oct. 18, 2013. Police said Reed was shot multiple times, including at least once in the face.
Thomas's lawyer Lorne Brown told jurors that Pratt lied to get a plea deal, his client didn't have anything to do with the robbery or the shooting, Pratt's testimony was "bought and paid for."
Prosecutor Nimish Ganatra argued that Thomas was just as guilty as the shooter. He said Reed was murdered "for an iPhone and a wallet that were never even used."
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