SALT LAKE CITY — Through tears, a mother described Tuesday how the single gunshot that took her son's life shattered hers as well.

Jamie Blalack won't call on Thanksgiving, on Christmas, or any other day. His mother described their last phone call, which ended with an "I love you" and a promise to talk again.

Three days later, on Nov. 2, 2014, Blalack was at work at 7-Eleven when he was gunned down by Anthony William Cline who became enraged when the clerk wouldn't sell him cigarettes.

"I am a broken mom because of his actions," Cheryl Clark said at Cline's sentencing hearing Tuesday. "My heart has not mended, I don't think it ever will."

Cline, 31, was originally charged with murder in the death of Blalack, 29. In a deal with prosecutors, he pleaded guilty to reduced charges of manslaughter, a second-degree felony, and felony discharge of a firearm, a first-degree felony.

According to police, Cline went to the Salt Lake 7-Eleven, 1157 W. California Ave., in the Glendale neighborhood about 1:20 a.m. where he argued with Blalack over cigarettes. As Cline was leaving the store, a surveillance camera recorded him telling the clerk "he was going to come back and shoot him."

The disgruntled Cline walked into the 7-Eleven parking lot, pulled out a gun and fired once, police said. The shot went through the store's glass window and struck Blalack in the head as he was behind the counter helping another customer, killing him instantly.

Cline was sentenced Tuesday to concurrent sentences of five years to life in prison for the weapon charge and two to 20 years in prison for the manslaughter charge.

Brenda Viera, Cline's attorney, said Cline had been drinking heavily at a party and was under the influence of marijuana and a prescription anti-seizure medication when he killed Blalack in an "instant flash of temper and an impulsive shot."

Viera said Cline never intended to kill Blalack, but fired off a random shot to simply frighten him and left the parking lot with no idea the clerk had been shot.

"As a man who has lost a child, he is horrified he has taken someone else's child," Viera said.

After surveillance video from the store was released, police received numerous calls from the public that helped them identify and arrest Cline. He was found at a motel in Davis County where they also recovered a .45-caliber handgun.

Members of Blalack's family, including some who were just getting to know him before he was killed, asked 3rd District Judge Paul Parker for the maximum allowable prison sentence for Cline.

Bailey James, Blalack's niece, had come with her young son to visit her uncle nine months earlier.

"I feel like my family has been robbed of a relationship that could have been something great," James said Tuesday. "I barely got to know him. … It's not fair and I don't feel that Mr. Cline should get any leniency."

Debra James, Blalack's older sister and Bailey's mother, explained that her 14-year-old son never got a chance to meet his uncle. She showed the judge a photo of the boy leaning over Blalack's body in a casket.

"It shouldn't be like that, no child should have to meet their uncle for the first time (at his funeral) because someone is negligent and drinking," she said.

Related

Man who shot 7-Eleven clerk over cigarettes pleads guilty to manslaughter

A man who shot and killed a 7-Eleven clerk following an argument over cigarettes has pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter.

Judy Anderson, Blalack's sister, called it unfair that Cline will have more opportunities to be with his family while her brother never will.

"I think he should be in prison for Thanksgiving, Christmas and all the holidays," Anderson said.

Cline apologized at the hearing Tuesday, acknowledging that nothing he said would bring Blalack back to his family and he doesn't expect they will ever forgive him.

"I sat here and listened to his family and everything they said was absolutely true," Cline said. "I don't ever expect or ask for their forgiveness. All I hope is that his family will someday be able to find some kind of peace for the hole that's in their hearts."

Parker did not allow members of Cline's family to speak at the hearing. Instead, he said that he had read letters of support that had been submitted to the court in advance. They spoke of Cline's faith, his commitment to continuing his education and his own grief at having lost his 7-month-old son years ago.

"There is no way for me to compare my pain to Jamie's family or do anything that would lessen it for them," Cline's mother, Salli Kerr, wrote. "Yet, I am still Anthony's mom. This situation has taught me unconditional love, to support my son through the darkest time's we've faced."

Kerr expressed her commitment to supporting her son regardless of the sentence he receives and her belief that he can be rehabilitated.

Dean Shriver, senior pastor at Intermountain Baptist Church, recounted Cline's spiritual growth while in jail and his desire to support those around him. Cline had been a member of the K2 Christian church prior to his arrest, Shriver explained, and turned to religion for support after the shooting.

"While Anthony's crime is serious, I have no doubt that the spiritual growth and transformation I have seen in his life is real," Shriver wrote. "Throughout the time I have known Anthony, he has demonstrated an acceptance of the reality of what he has done and the consequences of his actions. Unlike many of the inmates I visit, he possesses a sense of peace rather than anxiety about what lies ahead. This, I believe, is a mark of the reality of his faith and his deepening commitment to live his life in, and for, Christ."

Though he elected not to run Cline's sentences consecutively, Parker emphasized that his decision to fire at Blalack in an argument, whatever his intention may have been, was "unforgivable." The judge urged Cline to use his time in prison to continue improving himself.

Related topics