DETROIT (WWJ) -- Family, friends, and colleagues of murdered Oakland County Sheriff's Deputy Bradley Reckling gave emotional testimony on Friday before the sentencing of the man who took his life.
Raymone Debose, 19, was sentenced to 35 to 60 years in prison after the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office said he agreed to plead guilty to the charges of first degree murder and felony firearm.
Speaking to WWJ Newsradio 950's Charlie Langton at the courthouse, Reckling's mother, Tammy Reckling, said she's not happy with the sentence.
"It's very difficult, knowing that this individual will be out at a younger age than I am now to be able to enjoy his life and continue on with this family," Tammy Reckling said.
Prior to Friday's court proceedings, the Oakland County Sheriff's deputies lined up outside the courthouse, in a show of support for their fallen colleague.
Sheriff Mike Bouchard said he would have liked to see Debose put away for life.
"I think the process has been made so difficult now to hold people accountable, especially younger people," Bouchard told Langton.
"These aren't indiscretions, these aren't accidental. These are violent individuals that have shown a pattern of violence time and time again. And the courts and legislative bodies have made it difficult to hold these kind of predators responsible for their behavior."
According to investigators, Debose who shot and killed Brad Reckling on Detroit's east side last summer, as Reckling was working to find a car that was stolen from the parking lot of Red Oaks Waterpark in Madison Heights.
Detroit police said Reckling was behind the stolen Chevy Equinox on June 22, 2024, when suspects jumped out and fired shots at him.
Reckling was hit in the head, chest and torso.
"It was an ambush," Sheriff Bouchard said at a news conference the next day.
Two other suspects, Karim Moore of Clinton Township and Marquis Goins of Detroit also accepted plea deals in the case.
Moore received three to 20 years for the criminal enterprise charge, one to five years for the stolen vehicle charge, and two years for the firearm charge.
Goins was sentenced to eight to 30 years in prison for carjacking, consecutive two years on felony firearms charges, five to 20 years for conducting a criminal enterprise, and one to five years for receiving and concealing a motor vehicle, which will be served concurrently.
Reckling, a nine-year veteran of the sheriff's department, was a husband and father of three daughters with another child on the way, according to the sheriff's office.