An eastern Pennsylvania man has been sentenced to four to 10 years in the hit-and-run death of a 9-year-old boy who was struck as he reached to pick up a piece of candy he had dropped.
Northampton County Judge Michael Koury on Friday rejected an apology from 23-year-old Royce Atkins for the November 2015 death of 9-year-old Darious Condash and called him a "heartless human being who lacks a social conscience."
The judge quoted from recorded phone calls from prison in which Akins called the case ``blown out of proportion'' and said he had no remorse for the boy's family.
Defense attorney Philip Lauer said the recordings showed his client in private moments of anger, grappling with guilt and frustration. But the judge said they showed the defendant's true character.
