SAGINAW, MI — Fourteen-year-old Carl T. Howard sat up in his chair and, at the direction of his attorney, signed a piece of paper informing him of his appellate rights.

As Howard put the pen to the paper, a tear dropped from his eye onto the courtroom table at which he sat.

It wasn't Howard's first tear the afternoon of Thursday, Feb. 20, and it wasn't his last.

The 5'1”, 140-pound Howard, known as “Lil Carl,” sat crying just a few feet from his mother after a Saginaw County judge decided to sentence the teen as an adult rather than a juvenile, a decision that guarantees Howard won't get out of prison until he's about 30 years old.

Saginaw Circuit Judge James T. Borchard sentenced Howard to a total of 16 years and three months to 42 years in prison for 19 felonies related to four separate incidents, three of which involved gunfire.

Saginaw County Circuit Judge James T. Borchard listens to testimony during a Feb. 20, 2014, sentencing hearing for 14-year-old Carl "Lil Carl" Howard.

“Mr. Howard, I really do believe you would have wound up dead if I hadn't sentenced you to prison,” Borchard said. “I want you to take your time in prison to get an education. You can get a college degree in prison. You can come out with some skills or you can go to prison and just languish. You gotta change your ways or you're going to die or people are going to die, and next time you might kill somebody and wind up going for the remainder of your life. I don't want that to happen.

“I'm hoping there's something inside you that wants to succeed,” Borchard continued. “You're going to get out probably when you're around 30 years old, still a young man. Good luck.”

As Borchard was finishing his statement, a tearful Howard got up and began to walk out as his mother, Angel Thomas, sat in the gallery with tears in her eyes.

Family and friends in the courtroom supporting Howard exited as the judge was speaking, and some caused enough of a commotion that Borchard ordered sheriff's deputies to arrest anybody who continued to act out. After a loud noise near the exit of the courtroom, the judge told deputies to arrest the person who caused the noise.

That person was Howard's 12-year-old sister. After deputies handcuffed her and brought her into Borchard's chambers following the hearing, the judge briefly spoke with her and decided to release her from custody.

'I want to do right'

Prior to handing down the sentence, Borchard conducted a mandatory hearing to determine if he would sentence Howard as an adult or juvenile.

The hearing included testimony from Howard's mother, three police detectives, Howard's juvenile probation officer, and from Howard himself, who said he wanted Borchard to sentence him as a juvenile.

“I want to do right and go to school and be a successful person and turn my life around," Howard said.

Carl "Lil Carl" Howard, 14, and his attorney James Tiderington wait for the start of his Feb. 20, 2014, sentencing hearing in front of Saginaw County Circuit Judge James T. Borchard.

The judge asked him if he had anything else to say, and the teen said, “I want to be a good role model to my family,” and added, “I want to set a good example.”

His voice trailed off as he spoke, however, and he began to cry on the witness stand.

Despite the many tears shed by the 14-year-old, prosecutors pursued the lengthy adult sentence for Howard because he was an “extremely dangerous individual” when he was not incarcerated, county Chief Assistant Prosecutor Christopher Boyd said after the hearing.

“That may be his age chronologically,” Boyd said. “On the street, he had no fear, no sympathy, no reluctance to shoot people at the drop of a hat.”

The hearing was mandatory because Probate Judge Patrick J. McGraw designated Howard as an adult, which meant he would stand trial in the same manner as an adult but do so in Family Court.

Boyd said that charging 14-year-olds as adults “is not something we feel we need to do in the normal course of business, but these were extraordinary circumstances.”

“Our objective here is to remove the most dangerous people from our streets and make our community safer, regardless of their age,” Boyd said. “He caused an intimidating effect on our community. That factor has now been removed.”

Howard in January pleaded no contest to the 19 felonies in connection with incidents on June 19 and July 3 in Saginaw, July 22 in Buena Vista Township, and July 23 in Saginaw. Howard was 13 at the time of the incidents.

In exchange for the plea, prosecutors dropped seven additional felonies. Howard's deal called for prosecutors to recommend that, if he chose to sentence Howard as an adult, Borchard should hand down a minimum sentence at the low end of Howard's state sentencing guidelines.

For the most serious charge to which Howard pleaded, assault with intent to murder, those guidelines were 14 years and three months to 23 years and four months. Borchard chose the bottom of that range but also sentenced Howard to the mandatory, consecutive two years in prison for possessing a firearm during the commission of a felony. Howard received credit for 213 days, or just more than seven months. He'll turn 15 in September.

Under control

If Borchard had sentenced Howard as a juvenile, the latest Howard could have gained his release from custody would have been when he turned 21.

“The juvenile system doesn't seem to have anything available at its options to control his behavior, especially within this community,” Borchard said.

The judge also noted that three of Howard's older brothers either are in prison or jail for firearm-related offenses. That includes Karon "Do Man" Thomas, who is one of four men charged with second-degree murder in connection with the May 23 pre-prom party quadruple shooting in which 17-year-old Tonquinisha "NeNe" McKinley died.

“There doesn't seem to be much control in his household,” Borchard said. “(Thomas, Howard's mother,) may be a fine woman and she may be working hard, but she's not doing a very good job of keeping these kids under control or keeping them out of trouble.”

Howard pleaded no contest because of the potential of civil liability. The plea, which meant Howard did not contest that prosecutors' evidence would convict him, was not an admission of guilt but is treated as such for sentencing purposes.

Saginaw Police Detective Matthew Gerow testifies during 14-year-old Carl "Lil Carl" Howard's Feb. 20, 2014, sentencing hearing.

Howard's agreement also called for prosecutors to not pursue charges in connection with the pre-prom incident. After Thomas testified that Howard was home with her at the time of the incident, Saginaw Police Detective Matthew Gerow, who is the lead detective on that case, testified regarding an interview he conducted with a 17-year-old who said Howard and Thomas were standing next to each other shooting guns.

Howard's attorney, James Tiderington, objected to the testimony regarding the pre-prom incident because it wasn't related to the charges for which Howard was being sentenced, but county Assistant Prosecutor Paul Fehrman argued it, along with Gerow's testimony regarding Howard's allegiance to the East Side Gang, showed Howard's general delinquency.

Howard's delinquency was one of six factors that Borchard was to consider in deciding whether to sentence Howard as an adult. Of those, he was mandated to weigh two of those — the seriousness of the crimes and Howard's past criminal history — more than the other four. The others included Howard's culpability in the crimes, the adequacy of possible punishments, and the available options in the juvenile system, Fehrman said.

Gerow testified to numerous Facebook pictures in which Howard is standing with other alleged East Side Gang members and displaying gang signs that either are promoting the East Side Gang or are negative toward other gangs.

The detective also testified regarding a July Facebook post in which Howard references stealing a Tech 9 semi-automatic handgun and “tags” Stone Roberson. Roberson and Howard exchange replies in the comment stream, which included Roberson asking why Howard took the gun in the first place because it wasn't his.

Roberson, 16, was shot and killed Aug. 20 in the Bloomfield neighborhood near South Washington and Sheridan in Saginaw. Nobody is charged in the homicide, and Howard already was jailed at the time.

'I didn't do that'

Michigan State Police Detective Trooper Matt Williams testified that after authorities caught wind of the Facebook post, they put out a “be on the look out” alert for Howard that indicated he was wanted on a probation violation.

Williams said he and other officers arrested Howard after seeing him and three others sharing two bicycles on the city's East Side. After a foot chase in which Howard threw a .380 handgun as he ran, Williams and another officer arrested Howard, Williams said.

State police Detective Sgt. James Bush testified that he and Detective Trooper Randy Khan attempted to interview Howard, but the teen refused to answer any questions, including his date of birth. Howard eventually agreed to talk if his mother sat in on the interview, Bush said.

Fehrman played a video recording of the next portion of the interview. After some basic questions including what his address was, Howard began cursing at the detectives, asking why he was being interrogated. Khan calmly began to explain why, but Howard continued his outburst.

“What the (expletive) you want me for, I didn't do that (expletive),” Howard yelled, as his mother sat next to him.

Khan explained that the troopers announced they were police and that he fled, but Howard denied it.

“No the (expletive) they didn't, I didn't hear it,” he yelled.

Bush testified that as the midnight hour approached, Thomas eventually said she had to go to work and told the detectives to do, in Bush's summary, “whatever they want” with Howard. Thomas told Howard to get an attorney, Bush testified.

Thomas testified that earlier in July, she called Howard's probation agent, Keith Pretzer, and told him she hadn't seen him in about two days. Thomas testified that actually was a lie and that she did so only because she “was just hearing stuff” about her son and wanted Pretzer to put him back in juvenile detention.

“I didn't want him to end up like the rest of them,” she said, referencing Howard's brothers.

Pretzer testified that while Howard was a “good resident” in his most recent stay at the juvenile center, that included “a few fights.” Pretzer said he didn't believe the juvenile system was effective in rehabilitating Howard or that there was a “point” in putting him back under juvenile supervision.

“I think at this time,” Pretzer said, “the juvenile system doesn't have anything to offer.”

— Andy Hoag covers courts for MLive/The Saginaw News. Email him at ahoag@mlive.com or f

ollow him on Twitter @awhoag