Santiago Armijo, 17, was one of two teens involved in the murder of 25-year-old Larry DeSantiago

A New Mexico teenager who told his victim 'that's what you get' after shooting him dead has been jailed for just 30 days.

Santiago Armijo, 17, was one of two teens involved in the murder of 25-year-old Larry DeSantiago in March last year.

He was 15 at the time. Prosecutors told his trial that he and two of the other boys involved had discussed wanting to rob someone in the days beforehand.

According to their version of events, Armijo told DeSantiago: 'That's what you get'.

The maximum prison term he faced was four years behind bars but Judge Christina Jaramillo opted instead to give him just a month in prison.

She told the victim's family that no amount of time he served would bring DeSantiago back.

They have condemned the sentence and her comments as a 'slap in the face'.

Santiago Armijo, 17, was one of two teens involved in the murder of 25-year-old Larry DeSantiago in March last year

Prosecutors had asked for the maximum under the law - four years - but they said even that would not have been long enough.

Judge Christina Jaramillo said giving the boy a longer prison sentence would not bring back the victim

'I can only do so much, but, whatever I do, it will not bring back Larry.

'It will not heal your hearts or the hole that’s left in your hearts.

'There’s nothing that I can say or do that will help that,' Judge Jaramillo said.

Her comments outraged the victim's family.

De Santiago called it a 'slap in the face', saying: 'It devalued human life and allowed our younger generation to see that it’s OK to commit a crime, because they won’t be held accountable for their actions anyway.

'It also demonstrated why this generation is acting out in our community the way they do, and that’s because our juvenile laws in the state cater to them.'

Prosecutor Natalie Strub said the crime went far beyond the sentence.

In her opening statement, she told the court: 'This isn’t a drug possession or a car theft. This is the most serious charge, taking the life of another person.

'Four years for taking the life from a family that will never get to see a 25-year-old man grow up.

'It’s not justice, but it’s something, and that’s what the state’s asking for.'

The boy's lawyers told the court that he had been influenced by the other, older boy, Jeremiah De La Pena. He was 17 when the shooting happened.