Teen gets maximum juvenile sentence for Endia Martin murder

A teenager who shot and killed 14-year-old Endia Martin four years ago received a maximum term in juvenile court, a sentence that could see her paroled on her first-degree murder conviction as soon as next spring, or kept in custody until she turns 21.

The girl, 14 at the time of the shooting, will turn 19 next week, having spent more than four years at the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center awaiting trial. Her release date will be decided by officials in the State Department of Corrections. She pleaded guilty to charges of first-degree murder and attempted murder in January.

The girl, who is not being named because her case is being handled in juvenile court, had compiled an exemplary record since arriving in detention not long after the April 2014 shooting, according to a slate of character witnesses who testified during her sentencing hearing at the Cook County Juvenile Center.

"I want to go back to that space in time and make a different decision," Assistant Public Defender Elizabeth Tarzia said, reading from a sheet of notebook paper the girl handed her. "Every goal I have, I think of Endia. She is a great inspiration to me."

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