‘It was senseless.’ He killed a Puyallup man over marijuana. Now he’s been sentenced
A 20-year-old man pleaded guilty and was sentenced to more than 25 years in prison Thursday for fatally shooting a Puyallup man over marijuana a year ago.
Antonio Hartman was 18 when he shot Keylen Collins, 19 on Sept. 3 near the 10500 block of 188th Street Court East in South Hill. He was arrested on Sept. 18 following a high-speed pursuit by Pierce County deputies.
Hartman pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm at Pierce County Superior Court. He also pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a machine gun for an incident that happened on June 26, 2021, court records show.
Prior to the killing, there were reports of a late-night party, followed by an argument, according to court documents.
Hartman threatened to shoot Collins if he did not turn over the marijuana in his backpack, court records show. Witnesses saw Hartman firing shots into the air before shooting Collins. The 19-year-old’s body was found that morning on a basketball court.
Friends and family members of Collins gathered in the courtroom to hear Hartman’s sentence. Hartman’s father, Lynell Collins, wore a sweatshirt with his son’s picture on it.
Judge Karena Kirkendoll heard from both the defense and prosecutors, who agreed to a sentence of 276 months in prison. Hartman read aloud an apologetic statement, saying he hurt his family, community and Collins’ family.
“I am truly sorry for what I’ve done,” Hartman said.
Hartman said in his sentencing memorandum that he planned to get a degree, work on his body, mind and soul while in prison.
As part of the plea agreement, the prosecuting and defense attorney’s agreed to a recommended sentence of 276 months in prison, according to the sentencing memorandum. The defense argued that there were many factors in Hartman’s life that affected his brain development, including having an unstable home environment and drinking heavily from the age of 16.
During his statement to the court, Lynell Collins said he believed Hartman’s sentence should be much higher and that the defendant did not deserve a second chance in life because his son didn’t get one.
“Jail will not make him get better. Prison does not make someone get better,” Lynelle Collins said.
Kirkendoll imposed a sentence of 310 months, which is 34 months longer than the recommendation.
Collins’ impact on family and loved ones
Collins’ mother, Jalyn Sylling, had photos of her son when she gave a tearful statement to the judge. She described her son as a mentor and said that he loved to learn.
“Keylen was my second born,” she said. “Not only did I lose my rock, but so did so many others.”
Sylling said the last time she was with Collins was on Sept. 1. Sylling said that had she known that was going to be the last time she saw him, she would have made that car ride much longer.
“There’s no reason this had to happen. It was senseless,” Sylling said.
Lynell Collins said his son was “a great kid” and “had a bright future.”
He requested the maximum sentence for Hartman and said that a lesser sentence would be enabling the defendant for future crimes.
“You can’t reward that behavior,” Lynell Collins told Kirkendoll. “Keylen doesn’t deserve this.”
Kirkendoll said she received 14 victim-impact statements.
A statement from Collins’ girlfriend said she was battling cancer and going through chemotherapy when he was killed.
“He was the person who held me up, who made me smile when I didn’t think I could, and who brought some light into the darkness of chemo,” the statement said.
The statement said that not only did Collins’ girlfriend lose her partner, best friend and emotional support, but she was forced to continue treatment “without the person who had promised to stand by me through it all.”
Collins’ grandmother wrote to the court saying he was killed on the eve of her 70th birthday. She said he would text her for no reason, saying, “Hi grandma, I love you.”
“Keylen is my 3rd grandchild. No one will every take his place. He was one of a kind,” the statement said.
