Man again gets 10 years for fatally shooting friend

Before the judge came back to the courtroom to read her sentence Friday evening, Julian DeSantis walked over to embrace his wife and family members, telling each one he loved them.

“I know I deserve a punishment and I’m prepared to do the time for what I’ve done to everyone who loves me,” he said when he addressed the court earlier that afternoon. He said there were times in the years since he fatally shot his friend, Feliciano Sabates, that he wished he could have taken the bullet instead.

“My ultimate hope is that one day his family would forgive me,” he said.

DeSantis was resentenced to 10 years in prison for manslaughter by Palm Beach County Judge Samantha Schosberg Feuer on Friday, three days before his 21st birthday. DeSantis was given credit for 434 days. He was originally sentenced to 10 years in prison, but the 4th District of Appeal overturned that sentence in March.

As DeSantis was handcuffed, friends and family shouted, “I love you.”

DeSantis was found guilty in 2016 of fatally shooting Sabates, 18, in Palm Beach Gardens in August 2014. DeSantis, who was 17 at the time, originally told police a black man shot and killed his friend, but later admitted he had been drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana when he pointed the gun at his friend.

DeSantis told investigators he did not know the gun was loaded.

Gregory Salnick, one of the attorneys for DeSantis, said his client cooperated with investigators, is remorseful and has shown that he’s worked to be a better person each day since.

“He has changed from a child to a man. From a teenager to a father,” Salnick said.

Assistant State Attorney Reid Scott said that since his arrest, DeSantis has taken positive steps such as graduating high school, working and taking a care of a child while on in-house arrest.

“Unfortunately, (Sabates) will not have the chance to make those choices in his life.”

DeSantis was originally sentenced to 10 years in prison by Palm Beach County Circuit Court Judge Glen Kelley in 2016. In March, the 4th District Court of Appeal ordered DeSantis be resentenced by a different judge because of statements made by Kelley to DeSantis during sentencing.

“I have told you from the beginning, the loss of life, the taking of a life, I do not view as a youthful-offender sentence,” Kelley said.

Under Florida statutes, those considered youthful offenders cannot be sentenced to more than six years. The program allows first-time offenders 21 years old and younger the chance for lesser penalties.

In its ruling, the appeals court said Kelley’s statement “reveals that prior to hearing the case, the trial court had determined it would not use its discretion to impose a youthful-offender sentence.”

At Friday’s resentencing, Schosberg Feuer said “we are all one mistake away from tragedy,” but that DeSantis made more than one mistake the day he shot and killed his friend — including engaging in underage drinking, using marijuana and handling a loaded gun — therefore, she would not hand down a lesser sentence.

DeSantis’ wife, Justina, said in court Friday that she’s seen the man she’s been with for five years change for the better and become a loving father to their 6-month-old.

“He should be punished,” she said. “But he should have a downward sentence so he can continue being a good father.”

Schosberg Feuer acknowledged that DeSantis has made strides to become a better person, but added “the primary purpose of sentencing is to punish and second to rehabilitate.”

Sabates’ father told the judge he hoped she would bring justice for his son.

“I wish my boy was still here,” he said, looking back at DeSantis.