Teen gets 45-year prison sentence for murder

DECATUR, Ill. — A judge in central Illinois has sentenced a 16-year-old boy to 45 years in prison for his role in the stomping death of a 61-year-old man and 20 additional years for attempted murder.

Associate Macon County Circuit Judge Timothy Steadman cited the “extreme brutality” of the crimes in sentencing Deonta Johnson on Wednesday.

The (Decatur) Herald & Review reports that testimony during the sentencing hearing painted Johnson as a violent “danger to society” who attacked inmates and staff members while awaiting trial at a juvenile detention center.

Johnson is among six defendants convicted in the death of Jerry Newingham and a nearly fatal attack on 46-year-old Kevin Wilson in August 2009.

The Herald & Review says Johnson will be eligible to be released from custody when he’s 78.