Michigan teenager who shot dead brother after asking him 'let's see if it's your lucky day' sobs in court as he is told he could face 40 years in jail 

  • Riley Spitler, 17, sobbed after he was sentenced to up to 40 years in prison 
  • He was convicted of murdering his brother Patrick at family home in 2014 
  • Told court he pointed gun at his brother but thought it wouldn't fire because 'I loaded it, cocked it back, thought I de-cocked it'
  • Before pulling the trigger he said: 'Let's see if it's your lucky day' 
  • Spitler claimed the shooting was an accident and that he had 'no malice' towards his brother, who was 20 

By Jennifer Newton for MailOnline and Ashley Collman For Dailymail.com

Published: 07:11 EST, 3 March 2016 | Updated: 16:31 EST, 3 March 2016

A teeanger who shot dead his brother after pointing a gun at him and saying 'let's see if it's your lucky day' sobbed as he was told he will face up to 40 years in prison.

Riley Spitler, 17, claimed the shooting was an accident but the jury didn't buy it and he was found guilty of second-degree murder in January

During his sentencing hearing on Wednesday, a judge decided to give the teen 20 to 40 years in jail for gunning down his brother Patrick in their home in Blackman-Leoni Township, Michigan in December 2014.  

As the judge handed down the punishment, Spitler began to cry as he realized the extent of his jail term.

Riley Spitler who sobbed in the dock as he was sentenced to up to 40 years in prison for shooting dead his brother Patrick in December 2014 

Riley Spitler who sobbed in the dock as he was sentenced to up to 40 years in prison for shooting dead his brother Patrick in December 2014 

The sentencing came after Spitler was convicted of the second degree murder of his brother Patrick in December 2014

The sentencing came after Spitler was convicted of the second degree murder of his brother Patrick in December 2014

The deadly incident happened on December 15, 2014, when Spitler pointed a gun at his 20-year-old brother and said 'let's see if it's your lucky day'.

He then shot and the gun fired, fatally hitting his brother in the chest.

Patrick was acting like James Bond or something, so I did it back, and a round went right through his chest  

Spitler claimed that he had no idea the gun would fire.

'We were joking around, I had the real deal .380 (caliber handgun) in my hands,' Spitler told police when they interviewed him in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. 'He had a BB gun; plastic one that shoots tiny little BBs, and I was just, you know, aiming it at him joking around.'

'I loaded it, cocked it back, thought I de-cocked it, then I pulled the trigger, and it hit him right in the chest.'

'Patrick was on his phone sitting down when he was shot,' Riley went on to say in the video-recorded interview. 'Patrick was acting like James Bond or something, so I did it back, and a round went right through his chest.'

Patrick Spitler, who suffered a gunshot wound to the chest and was found slumped on the ground in his bedroom 

Patrick Spitler, who suffered a gunshot wound to the chest and was found slumped on the ground in his bedroom 

Spitler then called 911, and ran downstairs to wait outside for authorities. When paramedics entered the house, they found Patrick dead of a gunshot wound, slumped down on the floor of a bedroom.

Authorities who responded to the shooting say Spitler was very emotional.

'He was very hysterical,' Blackman-Leoni Township Public Safety Department Sgt. Steve Stowe said during the trail in January. 'We tried to talk to him, settle him down.' 

A search of the property found four handguns inside including a .38 Cobra, a revolver, a .45 caliber handgun and a .380 caliber handgun in Spitler's bedroom, a cache that got him an extra two years in prison.

A duffell bag containing four gallon-sized ziploc bags and a mason jar full of marijuana was found in his closet, resulting in a two-to four year sentence for possession of marijuana with intent to deliver.

While Spitler claimed the shooting was an accident and he had 'no malice' towards his brother, prosecutors painted a picture of a troubled young man who agonized in the shadow of his 'do-gooder' older brother, who was a standout cross country runner and helped run kids' camps.

It took the jury two days to decided that Spitler was guilty of second-degree murder, although the conviction was contested by the defendant and his father Brian

It took the jury two days to decided that Spitler was guilty of second-degree murder, although the conviction was contested by the defendant and his father Brian

'By the defendant's own words, he led a very different life than his brother,' Jackson County assistant prosecutor Jennifer Walker said in opening statements, adding that Spitler 'describes himself as having a bad temper, that he dropped out of school,' had a love for guns and sold marijuana.

And just two months before the shooting, Spitler chortled pulled a gun on his brother 'in anger'.

In an interview with detectives about a fight he once had with his brother, Spitler said Patrick told him 'You're never going to make good choices, you're just a loser, you're not going anywhere'.

'I pushed him, he pushed me back. I punched him,' Spitler recalled in the taped interview. 

It took the jury two days to decide that Spitler was guilty of second-degree murder, although the conviction was contested by the defendant and his father Brian.

Spitler will be eligible to leave prison at 37 years old.

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