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The mother of a Western Michigan University student who was fatally shot in 2016 during an armed robbery confronted her son’s killer Monday before he was sentenced to life in prison, according to multiple reports.
Jordan Waire, 22, was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for fatally shooting 19-year-old Jacob Jones in the face during an armed robbery at his Kalamazoo apartment in December 2016, according to local station WWMT.
He was found guilty of murder in May, MLive.com reported.
Kalamazoo County Circuit Court Judge Paul J. Bridenstine called Jones’ death “senseless, irrational and vicious,” MLive.com reports.
The violence took place on Dec. 8, 2016, the site reports.
Jones’ mother Tara Workman said, “The loss of Jake is so utterly devastating that sometimes I find it hard to breathe,” according to MLive.com.
“Not one more family should have to endure this unimaginable grief that you have caused,” Workman said.
Waire’s accomplice in the robbery, Joeviair Kennedy, was tried for murder but found not guilty in June after saying Waire pulled the trigger, MLive.com reports. Kennedy was convicted of armed robbery and one felony firearm count, the site reports.
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Jones was shot in the face by Waire after Waire and Kennedy barged into the 19-year-old’s off-campus apartment demanding marijuana and money, witnesses testified, according to WZZM13.
Kennedy also attended Western Michigan University and played on the school’s basketball team, according to the station.
Speaking to the MLive.com, Waire’s attorney, Michael Oakes, said his client was “bewildered” at his conviction and was the victim of courtroom lies. (PEOPLE could not reach Oakes for comment Tuesday.)
Waire was also sentenced to 30 to 50 years in prison for armed robbery, six to 10 years for being a felon in possession of a firearm, and two years for each three counts of felony firearms, WZZM13 reports.
Kennedy is scheduled to be sentenced in July, according to WWMT.
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