RACINE - Several family members of the man who shot someone outside Walmart in October broke out in loud sobs and angry mutters when he got the maximum sentence possible Monday afternoon.
Lennis Reynolds, 26, 3456 Stratford Ave., got 25 years - 15 years in prison and 10 years of extended supervision - for shooting a man in the Mount Pleasant Walmart parking lot in what was likely a drug deal gone wrong.
Judge Charles Constantine said the most significant factor in his decision was that Reynolds put the innocent public at risk when he opened fire in a crowded parking lot in broad daylight, calling it irresponsible and despicable.
"The final straw for me is (Reynolds) bringing in the public and that's absolutely outrageous," Constantine said.
The victim, Michael L. Williams, 31, of Illinois, was still suffering the effects of the gunshot wound to his upper left chest as of few weeks ago, said Assistant District Attorney Jacalyn LaBre during Monday's sentencing in Racine County Circuit Court.
"We're very fortunate that the victim lived and nobody else was injured at Walmart," she said.
Reynolds, who had been out on bail for selling cocaine, shot Williams outside Walmart, 3049 Oakes Road, on Oct. 16. Williams ran into the store at about 1:40 p.m., clutching his chest, saying he had been shot.
"This is a case that calls for the maximum period," Constantine said.
Reynolds put his head down.
A woman, who family members said is Reynolds' fiance, began sobbing at Constantine's words. She left the courtroom shortly after the sentence was given. When family members heard 25 years, their loud exclamations largely drowned out the rest of the judge's words.
Eight or nine people sat in court during the sentencing, including his mother and father. They continued to mutter under their breath, "25 years," and shake their heads. The mother sat still, covering her mouth with her hand while a family member patted her shoulder.
Reynolds kept looking back at his family as he got up to leave the courtroom, saying, "Man, he gave me 25 years, man."
Prior to the sentence, Reynolds addressed the judge and the court, apologizing to the victim, the victim's family, Walmart and its staff as well as the innocent bystanders.
"I take full responsibility for my actions - I know what I did was an unjust act," he said before choking up. "I wouldn't be in this kind of a predicament if I hadn't been doing these kind of actions."
Both his family and he cried as Reynolds read off of a paper.
"I just can't accept the fact that I'd never be a father to my daughter," said Reynolds, who family members said has a 2-year-old daughter. "My mistake doesn't determine my character and the man I want to be. After the tragic accident, I turned myself in - I couldn't live with that. I don't want to run from the law. I'm a man of integrity."
Reynolds said he prayed for another opportunity to become the man he knows he can be.
"He basically sealed his fate on what was going to happen - he wasn't going to walk away unscathed," said his attorney Dirk Jensen. "I think it shows a certain amount of responsibility. ... He could've taken off and been on the run until somebody found him. That wasn't the approach he took."
Reynolds was also ordered to pay restitution and got six years for delivering cocaine, to be served at the same time with the reckless injury sentence.
The only reason Reynolds got the maximum sentence, his aunt said, was because there were white people there at Walmart when the shooting happened. If it had happened on 12th Street, she said, he would not have gotten the maximum.
"I can't believe he gave my nephew 25 years," said Carmin White, 48, of Racine. "His life is gone."
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