MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI – Gary Ogreen wanted to be a police officer.

The former high school athlete-turned college student -- who stood 6 foot, 5 inches tall, a spitting image of his father – wanted to get married, have a couple of boys of his own, but now none of that will happen, said his grieving parents at the sentencing of their youngest son's killer, Deontay DeMarco Black-Wickliffe.

The courtroom, packed full of friends and family of Ogreen, and some on the opposite side for the Black-Wickliffe family, sat quietly, some weeping while embracing each other, as the parents gave heart-wrenching statements at the podium in front of the judge.

"Do you know how I spent my Christmas? I got to bury my son and his Christmas presents, thanks to you," said Ogreen's mother, Jeanette Ogreen, turning to face her son's killer.

"You have no idea whatsoever what you've taken from me. You have no remorse. I would love to get a hold of you. You're a sick individual. ... I won't get a grandchild. I hope you get everything you deserve in prison. Jesus will take care of you after that."

Both parents addressed 22-year-old Black-Wickliffe, who wore an orange jail jumpsuit with a cross around his neck, during his sentencing on Thursday, Sept. 18, in the courtroom of Muskegon County Circuit Judge Timothy G. Hicks.

Black-Wickliffe was sentenced to 28 to 63 years in prison for the murder charge; 21 to 50 years for the three counts of assault with intent to murder; and two years for felony firearm. He lost a motion to withdraw his earlier no-contest plea to the charge on Thursday as well.

Ogreen, 21, was fatally shot in the chest on Dec. 21, 2013, after a large group of uninvited guests – including Black-Wickliffe -- showed up and an outdoor fight erupted between one of them and one of the partygoers.

Authorities said Black-Wickliffe shot Ogreen when he fired off a spray of bullets outside the party after the fight, which did not involve Ogreen, ensued.

Wounded by gunshots were Julius Pamer, shot in the buttocks, the man who knocked out a friend of Black-Wickliffe's in a fistfight and allegedly kicked the friend in the head; Nicholas Gifford, whose right thigh was broken by a bullet; and Cody Sharlow, shot in the hip area.

Also charged in the case is Alexander Bumstead, 23, of Blue Lake Township. Bumstead is charged with involuntary manslaughter for allegedly pointing out Pamer to Black-Wickliffe while allegedly knowing that Black-Wickliffe sometimes carried a gun.

Bumstead is cooperating with prosecutors and was expected to testify at Black-Wickliffe's trial. He was the only witness at Black-Wickliffe's preliminary examination Feb. 12 who identified Black-Wickliffe as the shooter. None of the shooting victims saw who fired the shots.

Black-Wickliffe sat with little visible emotion Thursday at the defense table with his attorney. He looked Ogreen's parents in the face while they addressed him.

"He's a coward. You can't give him enough time to satisfy my family," Ogreen's father, Gary Ogreen, told Hicks. "My boys are a mess. I want him put away. I want him done and I want him gone."

Ogreen is survived by two brothers: Levi, 29, and Lance, 24.

Black-Wickliffe, who denied being the shooter, chose to address the court briefly following the parents' statements. Hicks allowed the statement to be given from the defense table.

He stood facing the judge.

"I just wish that it was me instead of him. I wish it was me so I can be in heaven with my dad and he can be here with his family," he said.

His statement brought little reaction from the courtroom, but Hicks did address the upbringing of Black-Wickliffe, who is no stranger to the court system. Hick said Black-Wickliffe was provided "some help" over the years in family court and was offered other assistance programs to steer him from a life of crime.

"This is more difficult than you think. This judge really can't react emotionally; we aren't supposed to do that. We're hearing a tremendous amount of anger from Gary's side of the courtroom and I get it. I get the anger. What the people on this side don't understand is the very difficult upbringing that Deontay went through that led him to this spot," Hicks said.

"Does it justify taking a handgun ... (and using it in) a spraying fashion? No, it doesn't."

The judge went on to say that Black-Wickliffe, whose father died, has a previous record that includes armed robbery dating back to 2008, carrying a concealed weapon and felony firearm.

"Unfortunately, this day was not unforeseen," the judge said of Black-Wickliffe's sentencing.

Muskegon County Senior Assistant Prosecutor Robert F. Hedges said the gun violence in the area has to come to a stop so more families like the Ogreens don't have to suffer "senseless" loss.

"This is becoming an epidemic in this community. It's gun violence over stupid, trivial things. It led to four people being shot. Christmas and the rest of it will never be the same for this family," Hedges said. "I feel like I've come to know (Gary) when he was alive. It sounds like he was a really wonderful man."

Following the sentencing, Ogreen's family members embraced. Ogreen's father spoke about his son and the memories he will hold on to.

He said the sentencing gives him no relief, no satisfaction because nothing can bring his son back.

The younger Ogreen, who excelled in sports and wanted to play college baseball, also wanted to be a police officer and that made a lot of sense, his father said. He was a fierce "protector" of his family and friends.

"His friends would tell you that they called him a protector, looking out for them," he said, wiping away tears. "He was a little bit too much like me, unfortunately. He was also into hunting heavy. Now he's not here to do that. He was always watching sports, ultimate Frisbee was the new thing he was doing. I hear he was pretty good at it."

Black-Wickliffe took from the Ogreen family a loving son and brother, and a caring friend, and for that, the elder Ogreen said, he can't move past the senseless crime that caused it.

"He cost me a daughter- in-law, my kid and carrying my name on. I was hoping he would have a couple boys to carry my name on a little bit and I lost all that," he said.

Heather Lynn Peters covers police and fire, and writes a statewide food column, The Spunky Kitchen, for MLive/Muskegon Chronicle. Email her at hpeters@mlive.com and follow her on Twitter @HLPNEWS.