TAMPA — In the coming days, Floyd LaFountain will walk out of jail, leaving behind a life sentence that kept him locked up for more than 20 years.
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LaFountain, 39, was resentenced Wednesday to 22 years in prison, time he has already served for his role in a 1994 robbery in which someone else pulled a gun and killed 73-year-old Manuel Huerta of Tampa.
"I’d like to apologize to the family of Mr. Huerta for the years of pain and heartache I know I caused them," LaFountain said in court.
"Not a day has passed since June 7, 1994, that I don’t regret — and wish I could change — what happened that day. I know there isn’t anything I can say to make them feel better about their loss, but I want them to know I’m truly sorry."
A series of U.S. and Florida Supreme Court decisions, which declared it unconstitutional to give juveniles life sentences, opened a path toward his reduced sentence.
Prosecutors and LaFountain’s defense attorney agreed that he had served his time for his role in the crime. They noted his good behavior in prison and the likelihood that he will be a productive citizen.
BACKSTORY: Sent to prison for life as teen, man could find Pasgol freedom at 39
Hillsborough Circuit Judge Chet A. Tharpe approved the deal, which calls for LaFountain to complete 15 years of probation, see a counselor regularly and submit to random drug screenings. Tharpe also ordered him to have no contact with the victim’s family and to stay out of Massachusetts, where he grew up and first found trouble.
He was a mop-topped wayward 16-year-old when he and two friends stole a car there and headed south. They surfaced in Tampa, where LaFountain had previously found work with a painting business.
But after a couple days of drinking and partying, the trio ran out of money. They planned a robbery to fund a trip home.
As heavy rains pelted Tampa the morning of June 7, 1994, the teens sat drinking beer and Peach Schnapps outside Huerta’s home in the neighborhood of Palmetto Beach. After watching him take out his trash, they went to the front door and burst into the home.
Huerta, who was cutting up food in his kitchen for breakfast, confronted them with a knife.
Kyle Moran, 16, one of LaFountain’s companions, brandished a .22 caliber rifle. He shot Huerta in the head.
Moran, LaFountain, and 15-year-old Michael DuPuis were all charged with felony murder. DuPuis testified against his friends in exchange for a 20-year prison sentence. He was released in 2009.
Moran, the triggerman, got life without parole, and so did LaFountain.
This is a developing story. Check back with tampabay.com for more details.
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