Carroll sentenced to five and a half years in prison

Larron Carroll has been sentenced to five and a half years in prison.  He was acquitted of murder and found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for an incident resulting in the death of Kuantrae Massey in 2013. (Pool photo)

By Joe Ragusa

BLOOMINGTON – A man from Bloomington has been sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison for shooting his friend.

Larron Carroll was sentenced on charges of involuntary manslaughter and possession of a stolen firearm Tuesday. Authorities say Carroll shot Kuantre Massey during a game of Russian roulette in January 2013.

Carroll was sentenced to five-and-a-half years for the firearms charges and four years for manslaughter, with those sentences running concurrently. Assistant State’s Attorney Brad Rigdon argued for the maximum sentence of seven years for the firearms charge, but Judge Scott Drazewski handed down a lesser sentence.

Raquel Carroll, Larron’s mother, said she isn’t happy that her son will see prison time, but it was a fair judgment.

“He’ll be okay. He’ll get home and he’ll get back to his life. (He’ll go through) a couple counseling sessions, get back to school, get his life back right,” Carroll said. “He’ll miss a chunk because of his friend, but he’ll be fine.”

Raquel Carroll said the incident and the trial that followed has fractured the otherwise great relationship between her and Massey’s mother.

“I don’t hold anything against her for it. I love her, still,” Carroll said.

Larron Carroll told Massey’s family during the sentencing hearing that he was sorry and his best friend didn’t deserve what happened. A member of Massey’s family responded out-of-turn while sitting in the courtroom and was reprimanded by the bailiff.

Defense Attorney Joan Hill-McClain said the punishment phase might have been different if prosecutors pursued lesser charges from the beginning, instead of first-degree murder, which she called “overkill.”

“He could have probably worked out a deal for probation, finished high school, gone on to college and put this behind him,” Hill-McClain said. “Instead, he was charged with murder and had to sit for two years waiting for trial.”

Hill-McClain said how this case played out is another example of how the justice system judges African-Americans and Latinos more harshly than Caucasian people.

Carroll was given credit for 692 days already served in jail. He’s required to serve 50-percent of the sentence.

Hill-McClain filed a motion to appoint an appellate public defender for Carroll to assist in the appeals process. He has 30 days to file an appeal.

Joe Ragusa can be reached at [email protected].

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