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Life in prison for Michigan man, 19, who killed 9-year-old witness

Andrea Washington holds a photo of her son Trashawn Macklin, who was killed in July 2013, while listening to Freeman Elementary teacher Laura Garrison speak about Macklin, Monday, March 2, 2015, in Flint, Mich., during the sentencing of Deonte Gray. Gray was convicted on three first-degree premeditated murder charges, including the death of Macklin, and sentenced to life in prison without parole. (AP Photo/The Flint Journal-MLive.com, Jake May)

FLINT, Mich. — A Michigan man convicted of fatally shooting a 9-year-old boy who witnessed him kill two other men at an apartment in Flint has been sentenced to life in prison.

Genesee County Circuit Judge Archie Hayman issued the sentence Monday to Deonte I. Gray. First-degree murder carries an automatic penalty of life behind bars without possibility of parole.

A jury in January convicted Gray in the July 15, 2013, shootings of 9-year-old Trashawn Macklin, 25-year-old James R. Allen Jr. and 22-year-old Akeem Easterling.

Standing beside Trashawn’s crying mother, Freeman Elementary School teacher Laura Garrison told the judge her student was loved by all who knew him.

Authorities say the killings began with a dispute between Gray and Easterling.

Prosecutors earlier dropped a fourth murder charge against Gray after a witness disappeared.

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