Carter Thomas Layne, 19, of Palmetto was sentenced Sept. 24 to 20 years in state prison for fatally shooting 16-year-old Jann Michael Feeney.
Layne was convicted of manslaughter with a firearm in the March 8, 2024, killing, state attorney Ed Brodsky announced.
The charge carried a possible penalty of 30 years in prison. At the sentencing hearing, the court imposed a 20-year term prison, followed by six months of house arrest and 4.5 years of probation with conditions.
According to trial evidence and witness testimony, Layne had been drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana during a gathering March 8, 2024, in Bradenton. Throughout the day and evening, he repeatedly brandished a revolver, “dry firing” it at others despite being told to stop.
Later that evening, JM Feeney, a Manatee High School student, asked Layne if the gun was loaded. In response, Layne pointed the firearm at Feeney and fired, striking him in the chest and killing him instantly.
JM Feeney, remembered as a dedicated athlete and admired as a student, worked at the Beach House Restaurant in Bradenton Beach alongside his mother and sister. He also played sports at the Center of Anna Maria Island.
His family and friends attended the sentencing hearing at the Manatee County Judicial Center wearing green, his favorite color, just as they did at vigils held to call for justice in sentencing.
Assistant state attorney Dickey Hough, who led the prosecution, called the shooting “a completely senseless and avoidable situation.”
“It is our hope that this outcome brings some measure of justice to the Feeney family for the loss of their loved one, who was by all accounts an extraordinary individual and beloved member of the community,” Hough said in a statement.