EVERETT — The man who repeatedly kicked a dying Mariner High School sophomore has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Anthony Boro’s grandparents don’t believe it’s enough time for the cruelty that Jesse Landrum showed their 16-year-old grandson during his last moments.
“My grandson was shot in the back…and fell to the ground. Jesse Ray Landrum walked up to him and brutally started kicking him. If he had not died from the shooter’s bullet, I believe Jesse would have kicked him until he was dead,” Boro’s grandmother wrote in a letter to the court.
Boro was left to die Oct. 6 in the parking lot of a Lynnwood-area apartment complex. Charles Courtney allegedly shot Boro in the back as the teen was running away, according to court papers. Courtney, 25, is charged with first-degree murder. His trial is scheduled for next month.
Landrum, 20, pleaded guilty last month to second-degree murder and faced up to 18 years in prison. Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Janice Ellis earlier this month sentenced Landrum to 15 years behind bars, following the recommendation reached by the defense and prosecutor.
Everett criminal defense attorney Pete Mazzone called the 15-year sentence Draconian. His client, he said, didn’t know that Courtney was armed and didn’t intend for Boro to be killed.
“Although he believes a fifteen-year term is too high given his role in the offense, he has accepted responsibility, is truly remorseful for what happened to (Boro), and wishes that he would have never met Mr. Courtney in the first place,” Mazzone wrote.
Prosecutors disputed how the defense characterized Landrum’s role in the killing. Landrum admitted he was looking for a fight and would have kept kicking Boro if he hadn’t died, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Jarett Goodkin wrote in court papers.
Weighing in the defendant’s favor was his lack of prior criminal history and his decision to take responsibility without making Boro’s family endure a lengthy trial, Goodkin wrote. The deputy prosecutor also agreed that Landrum didn’t share the same level of culpability as the co-defendant.
Detectives suspect that the killing was a case of mistaken identity. The defendants didn’t know Boro. They told detectives that they were searching for someone named “Mikey,” who Courtney allegedly believed was out to get him. Detectives were told that “Mikey” was with a group of men, who were wearing bandanas and toting baseball bats.
Courtney allegedly told detectives that he spotted a stranger outside his door shortly before 1 a.m. Oct. 6. He yelled for Landrum, who was staying with him, and opened the door. Courtney allegedly told police that he startled Boro and the teen ran off.
The two older men followed after the teen. Courtney allegedly admitted that Boro was running out of the complex when he shot him in the back, Goodkin wrote. Boro collapsed to the ground. Landrum told police that he kicked Boro in the ribs at least three times. He saw the young man die.
“His death has been really hard for our family,” Boro’s grandfather wrote. “Not one day passes that I don’t think about him. I lost most of my energy. Me, my wife and his little brother are not the same as we used to be. (I) hope someday it will get easier.”
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com.
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