Once or twice, Junor Douglas raised his shackled right hand to wipe the tears from his reddened eyes.
Junor Douglas was sentenced to 70 years to life in prison Tuesday for second-degree murder in the shooting death of 16-year-old Anthony Gee at a January 2007 birthday party in American Canyon.
His brother Marquis, 17, was sentenced to 20 years to life for the killing.
The three-and-a-half hour Napa Superior Court sentencing hearing was an emotion-filled forum with the victim's and defendants' loved ones alternately pleading for stiff punishment and mercy for the Douglas brothers.
As the brothers, in matching navy jail uniforms, listened only a few feet away, Kathy Jackson-Gee, the victim's mother, read a statement describing the "living nightmare" her life had become since her son was killed.
"In short, my world is destroyed," Jackson-Gee said.
Anthony Gee was at a Sweet 16 party in the garage of an American Canyon home on Jan. 27, 2007, when Junor Douglas fired several shots in the air and garage, striking the victim as he ducked. Gee died the next morning.
In arguing against leniency, Napa County District Attorney Gary Lieberstein told Judge Raymond A. Guadagni that the shooting stemmed from the brothers' "street thug mentality."
Junor and Marquis Douglas came uninvited to the party on Independence Drive. Tensions between several party-goers and crashers, including the brothers, climaxed with the shooting shortly after they were ejected from the event. Witnesses said Gee was not involved in the party tensions.
Marquis Douglas had brought the gun to the party and accounts differed over whether he gave the weapon to his older brother or tried to keep it from him. Both brothers, teens at the time of the incident, were tried as adults and charged with murder and several gun enhancements.
The defendants' relatives contended the young men were not thugs, but had both made bad choices the night of the party.
Junor Douglas silently cried as his aunt, Yvonn Johnson, told the judge what a "great father" the 19-year-old had been to his 2-year-old son, Junor Jr.
In a statement he read to the packed courtroom, Marquis Douglas said he was wrong to bring a gun to the party.
"My actions were negligent, but that does not mean I don't care about others," Marquis Douglas said.
Junor Douglas submitted a written statement to the judge.
The victim's father, Leland Gee, told the brothers "you are victims of your own stupidity."
Voice trembling, Leland Gee had harsh words for the teens convicted of killing his son.
"I will not feel the slightest amount of pity if you feel a living hell for the rest of your lives," Leland Gee said.
Gee's mother and stepfather, Albert Jackson, wore matching white t-shirts with Gee's picture on the front. Jackson-Gee placed a large picture of her son in a blue baseball uniform in the front of the courtroom before she read her statement.
"I love you forever, Anthony," Jackson-Gee said.
The defendants' mother, Arnetha Warrior-Griffin lashed out at District Attorney Lieberstein in her statement, accusing him of lying and using the trial to position himself for career advancement.
Lieberstein raised his eyebrows while Warrior-Griffin spoke, but did not respond.
Junor Douglas' lawyer, Jim McEntee, read a statement from a nurse who conducted weekly Bible study at the Napa County jail. In the statement, the nurse described Junor Douglas as a "quiet and thoughtful young man" who never missed Bible study, even if he was the only one there.
Gee's family members and friends remembered him during the hearing as a spiritual teen who prayed often and wrote poetry.
At the close of the hearing, Judge Guadagni spoke about what pain the murder had caused.
"I wish I had a magic wand. I would make it go away," Guadagni said.
• E-mail Shauntel Lowe at slowe@thnewsnet.com or call 707-553-6835.
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