Danbury Teenagers Sentenced to 10+ Years in Murder of Fellow Teen
It was a tragic scene on Friday (October 19), as the family of Gabriel Bardo gathered in Superior Court to watch the sentencing of two 17-year-olds who were responsible for his death last August.
Newstimes.com reports that as Bardo's family cried, Ronald Massagli and Lorenzo Santana each received more than 10 years in prison for manslaughter. Bardo's grandmother, Nora Bardo, sat in the courtroom with an urn filled with her grandson's ashes with tears streaming down her face.
Prosecutors said that on August 5, 2017, just after his 18th birthday, Gabriel Bardo was delivering a $30 bag of marijuana. As he sat in his car, Ronald Massagli jumped onto the windshield, slamming his feet on the glass. Lorenzo Santana punched Bardo in the head causing him to fall to the ground unconcious.
Family sat beside Bardo for days at Yale New Haven Hospital while going through the process of organ donation. An autopsy revealed that Bardo died from blunt impact which caused bleeding on his brain.
Massagli and Santana were both allowed to speak before their sentencing:
I never meant for any of this to happen. I can’t imagine what I stole from you. If I could make it better, I would.” - Lorenzo Santana, sentenced to 15 years in prison suspended after 10.
He in no way deserved what happened." - Ronald Massagli, sentenced to 15 years in prison, suspended after 12
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