Shabar Marshall will be eligible for parole after he has served the time plus another 8 years he's already serving.
Marshall's 27-year-old brother Jahaad was already sentenced Friday after a jury found him guilty of 22 criminal charges in the string of burglaries and robberies that began in late 2012 - including a terrifying home invasion that left a homeowner paralyzed. Judge Henry Hight put him behind bars for a minimum of 263 years.
The brothers were arrested after a robbery in Raleigh's historic Oakwood neighborhood January 7, 2013 in which they shot a man in the back as he tried to prevent a sexual assault on his wife. Jason Beyer was left paralyzed from the waist down.
Shabar Marshall was just 16 at the time of his arrest. He was accused in five incidents. The first one involved only him. It was a break-in December 11, 2012 at a schoolteacher's home. He went to trial and was convicted.
He pleaded guilty to 15 total charges including first-degree sex offense and attempted murder in two home invasion cases on Dec. 30, 2012 and the January 7 shooting at the Beyer home. Judge Hight sentenced the teen for each charge, but said the sentences could be served concurrently - meaning he will serve the longest sentence of 317 to 393 months.
Shabar Marshall testified for himself at Monday's sentencing hearing.
"I really want to apologize to the victims," he told the court. "I regret what I did every day. I did something wrong and I understand I get punished for it.
When asked why he was involved in the robberies, he said he did it because his brother asked him to. He said his brother was having financial problems.
"Going through hard times," said Marshall.
When asked why he decided to plead guilty, Marshall said he wanted to spare his victims a trial.
"I want to own to what I did," he said.
A sentencing expert testifying for the defense outlined problems within the Marshall family. She said the teen's father shot his mother when he was just 2-3 years old and there were other domestic problems for most of his childhood.
"It still doesn't excuse the behavior," offered Wake County prosecutor Boz Zellinger. "The testimony of the victims at his brother's trial expresses far more than I could ever say."
Marshall was to be tried along with Jahaad for two other break-ins on Dec. 26, 2012. In one of those, no one was home. In the other, the homeowners slept through it and awoke to find missing items including the Llama .380 handgun later allegedly used to shoot Jason Beyer.
A plea deal on those remaining charges fell apart earlier this month when Wake County prosecutor Boz Zellinger withdrew his plea offer after Shabar attempted to enter an Alford Plea. An Alford Plea means a person admits there's enough evidence to get a conviction, but does not admit guilt. Zellinger said the teen would have to admit to what he did.
Prosecutors have not said if they plan to press forward on a trial on the remaining charges.
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