MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A second teenager has entered a guilty plea for the murder of a Memphis contractor.
Corey Sandifer, 18, was sentenced to 15 years in prison without the possibility of parole as well as 12 years for aggravated robbery.
The sentences will be served together.
In August, Derek Cunningham Jr., pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and aggravated robbery in the case and was sentenced to 30 years in prison with no parole.
In October of 2013, Cunningham and Sandifer robbed J.P. Shelley and another man in the 4700 block of Scottsdale Avenue in Parkway Village.
During the robbery, Cunningham shot the victim in the neck, killing him.
Thomas Moss is also charged in the case.
WREG sat down with Shelley’s wife, Beverly, after Sandifer plead guilty. She believes the young men need to pay for what they have done, but she said the idea of them going to prison does not make her happy.
“I think a lot of these kids just come from such bad situations in their own family, and they just don’t know where else to turn,” Shelley said.
Both Cunningham and Sandifer have juvenile court records. Shelley said she wished there has been interventions in their lives before her husband’s death.
She has begun working with an organization that accepts juvenile court referrals of kids with multiple offenses, called JIFF (Juvenile Intervention and Faith-Based Follow-Up).
Shelley said her two kids are participating in a fundraiser to help JIFF help more troubled youth.
