CROWN POINT | The son Marlon Joshua will never know sat in the Lake Criminal courtroom Wednesday, flashing smiles at people sitting nearby and wrapping his little arms around his mother Terraka Newby as she cried.

Joshua, 19, was standing outside a Gary apartment May 23, 2006, in the 500 block of Garfield Street when Donte Gildon drove by, said, "Hey cuz," and opened fire with a Tech 9 handgun with air holes on the barrel and a 30-round clip, court records state.

Joshua's son, Marlon Jr., was born about three months later.

"You took a major part of my son's life," Newby told Gildon during his sentencing Wednesday. "Marlon Jr. will only know his father through memories, pictures and stories I tell."

Lake Criminal Court Judge Clarence Murray sentenced 24-year-old Gildon, of Gary, to 62 years in prison and three years of probation for the drive-by shooting.

After Joshua ran, the vehicle was put in reverse and Gildon continued to shoot him, records say. Police recovered 24 shotgun shell casings from the scene.

A jury convicted Gildon in June of murder, two counts of criminal recklessness and two counts of attempted battery, court records show. The jury deliberated for about one hour before reaching its verdict.

Gildon's co-defendant, Lymann Spurlock, 29, of Gary, who police said was the driver of the car, has a case still pending. He also is charged with murder, two counts of attempted murder and two counts of attempted battery, records show.