HOUSTON – The second of three men charged in the 2016 shooting death of 4-year-old Ava Castillo was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole on Monday after being found guilty.

Philip Battles, along with Ferrell Dardar and Marco Miller, tried to steal Ava's mother's purse outside their Greenspoint area apartment on Nov. 14, 2016, before shooting the girl, her mother and her sister, according to investigators.

Battles was automatically sentenced to life in prison without parole after 20 minutes of deliberation in the five-day trial.

"The last memory I have of my daughter was her gasping for air, fighting for her life," Ava’s mother, Diana Gomez, said in court Monday. "I’ll never get the chance to watch her grow up and realize her dreams and aspirations."

A Crime Stoppers tip led police to Battles, who was linked to another deadly aggravated robbery.

"What we know about Philip Battles is that no one is off limits, not even children," Assistant District Attorney Shannon Drehner said. "Ava was a young girl who loved her family, loved school and was full of life, in stark contrast to the world of Battles and his crew. These two worlds that never should have collided."

Prosecutors said Dardar was the one who pulled the trigger, hitting Ava in the forehead. He was already on bond at the time for three other aggravated robberies.

The men had been on a crime spree when they targeted the family, according to prosecutors.

Dardar was sentenced to 60 years in prison in September. He was originally charged with capital murder, but the charge was reduced to murder as part of the plea deal.

Ava's mother, Diana Gomez, was shot seven times, and her sister, Betsida, was shot in the stomach. Both survived.

Miller is scheduled to go to trial Dec. 12.