EVERETT — A 16-year-old gang member was sentenced Monday to a decade in prison for his role in the gang beating and stabbing death of another teenager in downtown Sultan.
Jaime Santana was the first to admit in court that he attacked Antonio Marks, 17. He pleaded guilty in November to second-degree murder. Since then three other young people have admitted to taking part in the brutal attack and have been sentenced to prison.
A fifth defendant, 16-year-old Ana Bustos, is expected to go to trial later this year.
All of the accused are believed to be members of a Sultan-based gang called Brown Pride Soldiers. Investigators believe Marks was a member of a rival gang.
Marks, of Marysville, was found bloodied and moaning June 17 in the street a few feet from Sultan’s City Hall. He was taken by helicopter to a Seattle hospital where he later died from his injuries.
A video surveillance camera caught the slaying on tape. The 43 seconds of footage shows Marks being knocked to the ground, repeatedly kicked in the head and stabbed. He was kicked so hard investigators found shoe prints on his head.
“My son did not deserve this,” Angelina Reyes said Monday.
Reyes has been critical of how her son’s killing has been prosecuted. She urged Superior Court Judge Ronald Castleberry to impose a lengthier sentence.
Marco Castillo, 20, was sentenced to 15 years in prison. His brother, Adolfo Castillo, 17, and Ivette Rico, 18, were sentenced to a decade.
As part of a plea agreement with Santana, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Tobin Darrow recommended a 10-year sentence, the low end of the range. Darrow said Santana was a follower in the gang. He participated in the beating in support of the gang’s leader, Marco Castillo, Darrow said. Marco Castillo was responsible for fatally stabbing Marks.
The low-end sentence is appropriate based on Santana’s age and his lack of a criminal record before being charged with murder, Darrow said.
Santana’s defense attorney Tom Cox said his client has the support of his family and wants to take responsibility for what he did.
“I know, no matter where he is going to be, the first thing he will think about when he wakes up is the fact that he participated in taking another person’s life,” Cox said.
Santana apologized and said he was praying for Marks’ family.
Castleberry on Monday asked Darrow to clarify Marks’ role in the beating. Initially prosecutors believed Santana was the last one to kick Marks in the head and took the teen’s phone.
Darrow told the judge that Santana stole Marks’ cell phone but it was Marco Castillo who delivered the last kick.
Castleberry said he hopes that Santana wakes up everyday remembering Marks.
“Yeah, it’s a heavy burden, but he deserves it,” Castleberry said. “What he does with that burden is his choice.”
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com.
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