A man convicted of killing the husband of a Baltimore police captain last year was handed a maximum sentence of 65 years Friday.
Sahiou Kargbo, 19, was found guilty in February of second-degree murder but was acquitted of first-degree murder.
Emotional victim impact statements were made in court Friday. James Blue III’s mother and widow spoke about their unimaginable loss, and read letters from his children.
A relative of Kargbo’s passed out while leaving court and fell on the floor.
“I made a terrible mistake,” Kargbo said in court Friday. “There will be a stain on my soul when I meet god and I feel hellfire.”
Kargbo shot and killed Blue in January of last year. He was the husband of then-Baltimore Police Lt. Lekeshia Blue, now a captain in the department’s Public Integrity Bureau.
Police said James Blue III was in his car waiting for a delivery to his home when he was approached and shot by Kargbo. At the time, Kargbo had a warrant out for his arrest regarding an armed robbery case.
Kargbo, who was 18 at the time of the shooting, was a Mervo student. He admitted on the stand to killing James Blue III in self-defense.
He said he thought James Blue III may have been the person who shot up the house of a family friend whom he described as an “aunt” the month before.
Court documents show a 9-millimeter handgun was recovered at Kargbo’s house when police arrested him days later.
In the second day of trial, Kargbo sat and watched footage of his Feb. 1, 2022 interrogation.
Kargbo is seen during the interrogation denying it was him in the video near the shooting scene.
This story has been updated with the correct spelling of Lekeshia Blue’s first name.
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