New Jersey man sentenced to 150 years in prison for killing family members in 2017

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A New Jersey man who fatally shot three family members and a family friend with a semi-automatic rifle on New Year's Eve in 2017 has been sentenced to 150 years in prison.

Scott Kologi, 20, was sentenced Thursday after he was convicted in February of four counts of first-degree murder and a weapons offense.

Police were alerted to his family's home shortly before midnight on December 31, 2017. Kologi had shot and killed his mother, father, sister and his grandfather's companion.

The gunman, who was 16 at the time, had fired the gun 14 times, according to prosecutors. Kologi's grandfather, brother and another family friend were present in the home but left unharmed.

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"These were acts of evil, carried out by someone who knew exactly what he was doing," Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Sean Brennan said during the hearing, according to a press release. "He killed them because he could. He killed them because he wanted to."

Monmouth County Supreme Court Judge Marc LeMieux said the homicides caused "immeasurable harm," according to the Asbury Park Press. 

"The intention of this court is that this defendant never see the light of the outside of a jail cell ever again,’’ LeMieux said during the hearing. "I hope one day, you realize the magnitude of what you’ve done here."

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A prisoner behind the jail cell bars . (iStock)

Kologi will not be eligible for parole until 127 years and six months into his sentence.

The defendant's lawyers had used an insanity defense during trial, but prosecutors argued that the gunman's actions were deliberate and that he knew what he was doing was wrong. The prosecutors said Kologi had researched whether the firearm would be effective against responding police wearing bulletproof vests.

The night of the shooting, Kologi called his mother up to his room, where he had the lights off. He shot and killed her upon her entry, and subsequently shot and killed his father who had run up to find out what had happened.

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The teenage shooter would then kill his sister and his grandfather's companion. Kologi's sister was visiting home from college.

Defense attorney Richard Lomurro argued that his client was mentally ill and asked for just a-30 year sentence, the Asbury Park Press reported.

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"The bottom line is, Scott is not a cold-blooded killer,’’ Lomurro said. "Scott is, and was, severely mentally ill. But he will be sent to state prison to be with cold-blooded killers."