Two former Fort Bragg soldiers killed a teenage boy because they believed he had broken into their home, a prosecutor said Tuesday in Harnett County Superior Court.
One of the men, 25-year-old Christopher Roger Blackett of Vista, California, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, conspiracy and kidnapping in the shooting death of 17-year-old Vincent Edwin Carlisle II of Spring Lake in August 2011. His minimum sentence is 29 years, six months, and the maximum is 38 years, six months.
Blackett will receive credit for the five years he was in jail waiting for his day in court. Prior to his plea Tuesday, Blackett could have faced the death penalty if convicted.
"I only want to say that I'm sorry," Blackett said when he was given time to speak to the court.
"We're certainly not satisfied with the outcome," Vincent Carlisle's mother, Wanda Carlisle, said after the hearing. "I would have liked for him to get at least life with no parole," she said.
"This is not justice. This is not justice," said Clarence Gaddy, who was Vincent's uncle.
Blackett's co-defendant, 25-year-old Sebastian Gamez of Hidalgo, Texas, has court dates scheduled in September and December.
