PORTLAND (AP) – A young man found guilty of manslaughter in last year’s fatal stabbing of a Portland teenager in his Congress Street apartment building was handed a 12-year prison term Tuesday.

Brandon Mills, 21, was sentenced in Cumberland County Superior Court to 17 years with all but 12 years suspended.

A jury last July acquitted Mills of murder but found him guilty of manslaughter in the death of Jarmaine Ramirez, 16. The manslaughter conviction carries a maximum sentence of 30 years, while murder is punishable by 25 years to life.

The slaying took place on the afternoon of Oct. 21, 2004, after children in the Ramirez apartment spilled water from a window onto Mills’ younger brother, Antwane, as he was walking on the sidewalk below.

Antwane and Brandon Mills entered the building seeking retribution, according to testimony at the trial, and the stabbing took place during a scuffle in the crowded hallway outside the apartment.

A murder charge against Antwane Mills, 19, was dropped after he agreed to plead guilty to burglary and assault. He was sentenced to 17 months.

The two brothers had fled after the stabbing, eventually heading to Boston, but turned themselves in five days later.

AP-ES-11-22-05 1311EST

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