(Reuters) - A Detroit man and a teenager are charged with shooting to death an 8-year-old boy while he slept in his bed in order to punish his mother, prosecutors alleged on Monday.

Calvin Mosby, 28, and Devaunte Starks, 17, were charged with first-degree murder in the death of Jakari Pearson on July 30, according to the Wayne County prosecutor's office.

Mosby had previously dated the victim's mother and prosecutors say he went to her home and threatened to kill her on July 29. He went back to the house early the next morning accompanied by Starks and killed the little boy, prosecutors said.

Police had said last week that the boy was killed by a stray bullet fired outside his home.

“Nothing is sacred anymore," Wayne County Prosecutor Kym L. Worthy said in a statement. "This is the second such incident in a few weeks in which a young child was allegedly deliberately and callously killed to get back at their parent."

Worthy was referring to a case July 1 in which a man was accused of killing a 2-year-old girl so that her death would be the last thing her father saw. Raymone Bernard Jackson was charged with killing KaMiya French, 2, and then injuring her father in Inkster, a Detroit suburb.

Starks and Mosby also face other charges, including discharging a weapon at a building causing death, and assault with intent to commit murder. Mosby is also charged as a felon in possession of a firearm.

They pleaded not guilty and are being held without bond. Their next hearing is set for Aug. 13.

(Reporting by Mary Wisniewski; Editing by Jim Loney)