Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
“You’re going to spend the rest of your life in jail, and the Battista family has to suffer the rest of their lives, and for generations for that matter, over $60.”
Those were the words Judge Wallace H. Bateman spoke during the Wednesday sentencing hearing for convicted killer Ckaron Handy.
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Handy, 26, was sentenced to life in prison on a second degree homicide charge, plus two and half to five years for a weapon possession charge. The Bristol Township man is already serving several years for a federal case.
Handy shot 30-year-old union machinist Kevin Battista while trying to take $60 from the father of two who was looking to score some drugs at the intersection of intersection of Mitchell Road and Airacobra Street in December 2006. Authorities have described Battista as a recreational drug user who entered the Bloomsdale-Fleetwing neighborhood in search of his girlfriend, who he thought he saw drive into the section.
Handy was convicted of second-degree murder, robbery and possession of a weapon following a week-long trial in December.
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“While no sentence can ever bring back Kevin Battista, I hope knowing that this man will never threaten society brings some small measure of relief to Mr. Battista’s loved ones,” Deputy Bucks County District Attorney Christopher Rees told reporters following the sentencing.
Detectives worked the case for six years before Handy was charged with the killing in 2012. He already has a federal conviction under his belt and has a criminal record. Due to lack of witness cooperation in the murder investigation, county prosecutors had to use a grand jury to compel some witnesses to speak in 2009.
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“This sentence is a credit to the Bristol Township Police Department and Detective Timothy Fuhrmann for the work they did in bringing this murderer to justice,” Rees noted.
