Man Gets 25 Years For Killing Student

A Lanham man was sentenced to 25 years in prison yesterday in the slaying of an 18-year-old woman who was struck by a bullet last year as she walked home from a Prince George's County high school.

Prosecutors said that the shooting stemmed from a feud between two groups of teenagers and that the victim, Cherrese Richardson, was not involved with either group.

"I didn't think none of this would happen," defendant Terrance R. Martin said in court. "I'm sorry for what happened."

As she imposed the sentence, Circuit Court Judge Sheila R. Tillerson Adams said, "There are consequences for our choices in life."

Martin, 19, did not react as Tillerson Adams announced the sentence. Some of his relatives wept quietly.

Richardson's mother, Wilhelmina Frederick, said she was satisfied with the sentence. "He'll have plenty of time to think about what he did, and that's what I wanted," she said.

In September, a jury convicted Martin of second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and other offenses. He was acquitted of first-degree murder.

Richardson was shot in the head Jan. 8, 2008, as she was walking home from Charles H. Flowers High School in Springdale. She fell and died in front of her younger sister.

Another student and a man who was driving in the area were hit by stray bullets and suffered wounds that were not life-threatening.

According to testimony at Martin's trial, the shooting stemmed from a feud between two groups of teenagers from nearby neighborhoods, Glenarden and Ardmore. Martin and his friends are from the Glenarden neighborhood.

Martin fired into a crowd of students from one moving car, and one of Martin's friends fired from another moving car, prosecutors said.

Martin's defense attorney argued that Martin believed he and his friends were being fired on by a member of the rival group. Assistant State's Attorney Michael Pearson said there was no evidence that Martin and his friends were being fired upon.

"It is every parent's nightmare to find out that your child is gunned down walking home from school minding her own business," State's Attorney Glenn F. Ivey said. "I can't imagine what this defendant was thinking when he shot into that crowd."

Martin's co-defendant, Jeffrey D. Boddie, 18, is scheduled to go trial on Monday on charges of first-degree murder and other offenses.