PROVO — The man whose homemade fireworks nearly killed 12-year-old Bridger Hunt was sentenced to jail Tuesday morning, despite tearful pleas for leniency from Bridger's mother.

"Let us take on this burden," Mindy Carter-Shaw tearfully asked the judge. "It's already been given to us. We already have to deal with it. Let Craig be with his family."

Craig A. Miller pleaded guilty in October to possession of explosive or incendiary parts, a third-degree felony, and a class A misdemeanor charge of reckless endangerment after his homemade fireworks exploded, sending huge chunks of metal shrapnel into Bridger's leg and torso.

However, after listening to Shaw explain Bridger's daily routine and how much pain he's constantly in, 4th District Judge Fred Howard ordered that Miller serve 21 days in jail then 159 days on the jail's ankle-monitoring GPS system. He will also serve three years on supervised probation.

"The circumstances of his actions taken together, while not malicious or intended to cause injury, were nonetheless reckless and ... did cause serious permanent injuries to Bridger Hunt," Howard said.

After the explosion on July 24, Bridger was flown to Primary Children's Medical Center in critical condition and remained there for nearly two months and underwent numerous surgeries.

From the beginning, Miller has continually expressed remorse for Bridger's injuries.

"I'm not the type of person who wants to hurt anybody ever," he told the judge. "It's not in my nature. Nothing this court can do can inflict the kind of pain I've been through, thinking every day that I damaged a child."

But Bridger is continuing to improve and rolled into the courtroom Tuesday in his wheelchair, wearing a gray hoodie, a shy smile and a brace on his left injured leg. It's the first time he has attended a court hearing.

Medical bills are nearing $1.7 million, Carter-Shaw said. The amount of restitution Miller is required to pay will be determined at a hearing Feb. 6.

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