Prison sentence hits like sledgehammer

Life in prison.

We knew that was coming for Tim Brooks when he was found guilty of first-degree murder and robbery with a firearm at his trial last month.

Yet when Manatee Circuit Court Judge Debra Riva delivered the sentence Monday, it must've hit the ex-Lakewood Ranch High School quarterback like a sledgehammer.

Life in prison.

Brooks is 19.

What must've gone through his mind when Riva uttered those words with such terrible finality.

That sentence should ring aloud to other Manatee County youths who think wielding a weapon on the streets is no big deal.

It's a way of life, see.

Yeah, a way of life that gets you life -- in prison.

Look at Brooks.

So what if he was a talented quarterback at the Ranch.

It means nothing.

His athletic prowess is absolutely negated by his felonious behavior off the playing field.

Especially on the night of July 13, 2008.

That's when Brooks shot William White Jr. during a bungled robbery in east Bradenton.

According to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, White was a passenger in the car of Jakob Cunnien when they drove to the 1600 block of 27th Avenue Drive East to buy marijuana.

On the way out, Cunnien stopped the vehicle after seeing someone he knew.

That's when Rogers and an accomplice, Cody Rogers, flanked the car, weapons drawn.

After Brooks snatched a chain off White's neck, Cunnien tried to drive away. According to testimony, Brooks fired at White and killed him.

Rogers is also charged with murder and robbery and faces trial in February.

He, too, is 19.

Tragically, so was White.

If convicted, Rogers will receive the same judgment as was passed on Brooks Monday.

Life in prison.