Crawford, now 18, told the court that since he’s been incarcerated, he’s earned his GED and had plans for the future, according to his attorney.

“He apologized to the (victim’s) family and said he’s been giving counsel to his younger siblings on not to go down the road that he had chose to go down,” attorney Russ Stone told the Times-Dispatch.

The defense also provided evidence that Crawford had a troubled past that involved being sexually abused twice as a child and seeing the grandmother who raised him suffer physical abuse, the paper reported.

Circuit Judge David E. Johnson sentenced Crawford to a total of 53 years in prison with 33 years suspended on convictions of second-degree murder, felony use of a firearm and attempted robbery in the slaying of Jon-Eric R. Schwarz V, 30.

The others were Daeshun Raquon Hargrave of Spencer and Najee Tariq Palmer of East Spencer.

“In the end, all four defendants piled into Ellis’ car and circled the neighborhood, with Ellis egging on Crawford to carry out their robbery plan,” the paper reported.

After they stopped nearby, Crawford, Hargrave and Palmer approached the shed where Schwarz lived. He saw them and began walking to the door. Crawford, carrying a handgun, opened fire, hitting Schwarz in the abdomen — severing his aorta.

Without getting money or drugs from Schwarz, the four fled back to North Carolina and were arrested eight days later. Police said all four were affiliated with the Grape Street Crips.

Hargrave and Palmer are expected to enter guilty pleas to similar charges on Jan. 25 and Feb. 13, respectively.