Monday morning, the last of three co-defendants involved in the January shooting of a 16-year-old girl on Dell Range Boulevard was sentenced to two to three years in prison for his role in her death.

Cody Nicholson, 19, was sentenced to the maximum amount for his sole charge of felony accessory after the fact to involuntary manslaughter. Nicholson’s sentence was part of a plea agreement between the state and his defense attorney before Monday’s hearing.

Nicholson was characterized by multiple parties as having a substance abuse problem, and was recommended to the Youthful Offender Treatment Program at his sentencing.

On Jan. 9, Nicholson was sitting in the back seat of a vehicle on Dell Range Boulevard and had a loaded firearm, which was picked up by one of his co-defendants, Tirso Munguia, 19. With Nicholson’s gun, Munguia shot and killed Angelina Harrison, leading to a charge of involuntary manslaughter.

While Harrison was bleeding out, the vehicle’s driver, Sarah Heath, 26, conspired with Munguia to help Nicholson avoid apprehension, the Harrison family said. Nicholson fled the scene of the shooting, interfering with the investigation into Harrison’s death for hours before he was detained.

While Nicholson’s charge was not as severe as his co-defendants, the judge made a point to note that Nicholson’s reckless possession of a gun led to Harrison’s death.

“There’s really no excuse for an individual to make decisions that are so ill-informed, immature and reckless,” District Judge Ed Buchanan told the defendant. “It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that you just don’t do certain things. ... Had it not been for you bringing a firearm, she would have survived, and that’s a fact.”

Buchanan said that Nicholson’s conduct seemed to indicate diminished mental ability, due to his poor decision-making and issues with the law. He also cited the substance use by all three co-defendants at the time of Harrison’s death as another sign of his recklessness with firearms.

“You do such a disservice to law-abiding gun owners across this state and this country,” Buchanan continued.

Earlier in the hearing, Nicholson’s public defender, Keith Nachbar, said his client took responsibility for his role in Angelina Harrison’s death, and that he did not want to belittle the pain of the Harrison family. He said, however, that he wanted to tell the judge about mitigating factors that should be considered in Nicholson’s favor.

He said Nicholson was “the only defendant who told the truth right from the beginning” and had no inconsistencies in his statement. Assistant district attorney William Edelman, representing the state, acknowledged this point later in the hearing.

Nachbar also emphasized Nicholson’s young age as a mitigating factor, as he was 18 years old at the time of the crime.

Throughout the proceedings involving Harrison’s death, her family and the state have said the decision by the co-defendants to prioritize their alibi instead of getting Harrison treatment for her gunshot wound likely cost the teenager her life. Nachbar argued that, since Nicholson quickly left the vehicle, he was not a part of that process.

He emphasized that Nicholson’s sentence should only pertain to the charge and his conduct after the fact, and not his conduct before or during the shooting.

Buchanan later said the only mitigating factors he saw in this case were Nicholson’s acknowledgement of responsibility and eventual cooperation once he was apprehended.

Before the state made its initial arguments, both of Harrison’s parents, Amanda and David Harrison, read victim impact statements for the third time.

In his statement, David Harrison admonished the Nicholson defense for pushing the blame onto his co-defendants, emphasizing the role Nicholson’s possession of a firearm had in the death of his daughter.

“I’ve heard from medical professionals that, had you gone into the (health center) and asked for help, there’s a good possibility Angelina may have survived,” David Harrison read aloud in court. “To me, this meant that your future was more important than Angelina’s life.

“... If he would put half as much effort into having or protecting Angelina as he did into obtaining a firearm he should’ve never had, she possibly could have still been here with us today.”

Amanda Harrison gave a shorter version of her statement, saying that the experience of repeatedly sharing her feelings in court was “traumatizing.”

“I’ve already done that twice before,” she said, “and, quite frankly, it’s exhausting and painful ... to read over and over.”

The family also criticized a plea agreement the state made with Nicholson’s defense, saying it did not go far enough to punish him for his involvement in Angelina Harrison’s death.

After they concluded their statements, Edelman said the family had previously verbalized their support to the state for the plea agreement when it was entered earlier this year. He also agreed with the Nachbar’s characterization that Nicholson was the only co-defendant who was honest.

“Are you his attorney?” David Harrison exclaimed from the gallery of the courtroom, expressing his distaste for Edelman’s remarks in favor of the defendant. “What in the hell is going on now?”

At the end of the hearing, Buchanan ruled that Nicholson was not a suitable candidate for probation and imposed more than $12,000 in fines on the defendant, including $9,000 in public defender’s fees. Due to disagreement between the state and the defense, sentencing was completed before Buchanan made a determination about restitution.

The judge concluded the hearing by saying the defense has 30 days to appeal the sentence.