Man sentenced to prison for his role in 2006 shooting death

Brandon Christopher Wallace, who hung out with known gang members and ended up contributing to the shooting death of another young man, was sentenced to prison Monday.

Both Wallace and Anthony David Milligan were present at a party on Sept. 17, 2006, in Murray where another man, Marcello Cecala, 25, was shot in the heart while driving away.

Stephanie Cecala, the victim's wife, tearfully told the judge that the couple's young son asks where his father is every night before bedtime.

"I tell him, 'He's in heaven,' and he says, 'Can we go get him?' " Stephanie Cecala said, sobbing.

Wallace should have known better, she said. "When you act out in violence, it's not going to end in peace."

Third District Judge Paul Maughan sentenced Wallace to one to 15 years behind bars for manslaughter and also imposed the same sentence for another charge of robbery. Both are second-degree felonies.

The judge ordered that the sentences run consecutively.

Wallace, 25, whose gang nickname is "Chaos," originally was charged with murder, a first-degree felony, but was given a plea deal in return for his cooperation. He testified against Milligan, his gang buddy who is known on the streets as "Tony Montana," presumably after the Cuban gangster played by Al Pacino in the film "Scarface."

Police said Cecala's car was hit at least nine times with bullets from a 9mm handgun, and five bullet slugs were removed from the vehicle.

Wallace's defense attorney, Manny Garcia, said Monday that Milligan had told Wallace "he was going to have to put his name on this," in reference to the slaying of Cecala. However, Garcia said it was Milligan who killed Cecala, not his client, and that Wallace had no idea that Milligan was going to start shooting that night.

Milligan, 22, has already been sentenced to prison for this and other crimes and has a different murder charge pending in 3rd District Court with a trial scheduled for September.

Wallace told the judge that he had cooperated with law enforcement officials because he wanted to do the right thing.

"I'm remorseful," he said, adding he realizes that his actions that night caused Cecala's death even though Wallace did not actually pull the trigger.

"I feel real bad," Wallace said.