Wayne County Circuit Judge Qiana Lillard did not mince words when sentencing Kobi Taylor for his involvement in the shooting deaths of two people in Westland earlier this year.

She cited several reasons, including his demeanor during his trial and testimony, that showed the 19-year-old homeless man was a main driver behind the armed robbery and shooting deaths of Jordan Baker and Howard Wick that took place in February near Norene and Treadwell in Westland.

"He's a diabolical monster," she said. "He set all of this in motion."

Lillard sentenced Taylor to a minimum of 65 years in prison, the lone sentence she had discretion over and well above what his attorney, Wyatt Harris, requested. Harris had requested a sentence of between 25-30 years. She set the maximum sentence at 95 years.

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Taylor was found guilty by a separate jury on two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of armed robbery and one count of felony firearm. Another defendant in the case, Dominik Charleston, 19, of Romulus, was found guilty by a jury on all charges he faced, including two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of felony murder, two counts of armed robbery and one count of felony firearm. Their trials took place last month.

The other two originally charged in the case had their sentences settled before Wednesday's sentencing hearing in Detroit's Frank Murphy Hall of Justice: Charleston of Romulus was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, the mandatory sentence for a first-degree murder charge.

The last defendant, 17-year-old Taylor resident Amber Tackett, took a plea deal and will serve between 7-22 years in prison.

The three were charged earlier this year after they arrived to the Westland neighborhood back in the early morning hours of Feb. 6. Police say the three orchestrated a robbery of some marijuana, though that resulted in both Wick, 35, and Baker, 19, being shot and killed.

Wick's mother, Sue Varner, said during the hearing her son planned on becoming a tattoo artist. He had just recently gotten his certification days before his death.

She said she won't forget all the times she had with him and was incredibly sad she'll only be able to visit his grave from now on.

"I have to go to the graveyard ... where Dominik, Kobi and Amber put him," she said. "He was all I had in this world."

'Left with no chance to live at all'

Charleston, Taylor and Tackett were also ordered to pay more than $22,000 in restitution, though Lillard said that burden will most likely fall on Tackett, who could be out of prison as early as 2024.

None of the three sentenced said anything during the hearing. Taylor and Charleston's case will be automatically appealed to the Michigan Court of Appeals based on the fact they were both convicted by a jury.

Baker's mother, Patricia Lantz, said she wakes up routinely with panic over what happened to her son and how he was not given a chance to grow up.

"He was left bleeding in the street with no chance to live at all," she said. "Jordan deserved to live a long and happy life."

John Strong, Baker's grandfather, said Baker was an uplifting man to be around and said he wished Michigan sentencing could mandate a harsher penalty for the two men convicted in his death.

"I wish this state had the death penalty," he said, "so I could watch you two die."

dveselenak@hometownlife.com | 734-678-6728 | Twitter: @DavidVeselenak