MARION COUNTY, Fla — A teenager has learned his punishment for killing three of his friends when he was 12 years old.
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Christopher Atkins, now 15, was sentenced to 40 years in prison in connection with the murder of three people in Marion County, Florida, in 2023.
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Atkins was one of three charged in the murders. He and the two others, Robert Robinson and Tahj Brewton, pleaded guilty this past spring.
Investigators said the three boys and the other three teenagers robbed a man when he was trying to buy a gun from them, our sister station at WFTV reported.
The group then turned on one another.
Investigators said Robinson ordered Atkins, who went by the street name “3-5,” to shoot someone who had been riding with them.
The group then dumped the three bodies in various locations.
Investigators said the boys then burned their clothes as they fled back to Atkins’ house
Due to his age, Atkins’ sentence will be eligible for review after 25 years.
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