It apparently didn't go over well with family members of five men sentenced to prison Wednesday for a 2006 crime spree that saw two people shot during robbery attempts, a woman raped and an infant assaulted.

Several of the nearly 50 members of families related to the five men stormed out of the Orangeburg County Courthouse after the men were sentenced.

However, Circuit Court Judge James Williams told the five the sentences were justified.

"We see a lot of these things up in this courthouse, (but) I don't believe we've seen something more tragic than this," Williams said. "Each of you young men is looking at three life sentences. When you go back to jail tonight and you're angry about the sentence you're about to get, just remember you were facing three life sentences."

William Antonio Gleaton, 26, Darrell Cornelius Gleaton, 19, Brandon Alzante Staley, 21, all of Springfield; Darone Derricott Jr., 19, of Washington, D.C. and Ricardo Johnson, 20, of Hyattsville, Md., were sentenced Wednesday after having pleaded guilty to the multiple charges levied against them for a 2006 crime spree in the Denmark and Norway areas.

Williams' sentences on the men ranged from 20 years to 40 years.

The night of Dec. 18, 2006 became one of terror for three families, one in Denmark and two in Norway, when the five men went on a drug-induced rampage that resulted in a Denmark man being shot in the shoulder and an 81-year-old Norway man being shot in the groin.

Before the men could be apprehended, the five-hour crime spree saw a woman raped and a one-year-old child assaulted.

It began at about 10:45 p.m., when two men knocked on the door of a Sawdust Road mobile home in Denmark. When the door was opened, a man standing at the door with a shotgun forced his way inside, shooting the homeowner in the shoulder during a robbery attempt.

The five then traveled to Norway, where they forced their way into another home, shooting an 81-year-old man in the groin.

"Once inside, all of them took some items, took some money, some liquor," First Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe said.

From there, the men forced their way into yet another residence, where Darrell Gleaton raped a woman, threatening to harm the woman's child if she did not have sex with him. Police discovered the child was struck in the head with the butt of a pistol.

About 13 members of the victims' families attended the hearing, including the husband of the woman who was raped.

"I don't bother no one; I don't do nothing to no one," the man said while struggling with his emotions. "Your wife, your kids, and somebody just ... raped your wife. How would you feel if I came into your house?"

Asked if she wanted to speak, the victim of the sexual assault said, "I never in my life thought I would be raped. I feel angry, embarrassed, scared. I hate what he did. Every day I have to live with that."

The attorneys for the defendants apologized to the victims seated in the courtroom jury box about 15 feet from the five men who were shackled, hands and feet.

"This young man has accepted responsibility," said Carl B. Grant, an attorney for Staley. "Is he salvageable? Can he as a young man go into the community and tell young people how one night can ruin the rest of your life? I think so."

In his address to the court, the Rev. Lindsay Amaker said it would send the wrong message to sentence the men to lengthy prison terms.

"If we wipe this out and put them all away, what do we say? That they aren't worth saving?" Amaker said. "Are we just going to walk away and say they did deserve the max?"

Meantime, Johnson's mother, Barbara Johnson, said she was a rape victim herself. She knows what the victim in this case is dealing with, she said.

"I raised my son, and I know my son," Barbara Johnson said. "In my country, we give them the best. I'm only asking for leniency."

After the attorneys and, in several cases, two or more family members had spoken for each defendant, Williams handed down his sentences.

The apologetic mood permeating the courtroom just moments before was broken when a man slammed his hand into the courtroom door as he left. County deputies immediately approached the man to restore order outside the courtroom.

From there, as they made their way out of the building, friends and family of the five men became loud and outspoken, one saying loudly, "F----g cracker ain't looking out for nobody but hisself."

Until the crowd outside dispersed, the 13 family members and friends of the victims' families were led by officials to a waiting area adjacent to the courtroom.

The sentence was no more than they deserved, Pascoe said.

"This involved two of the most heinous home invasions I've prosecuted in my 15 years," he said. "They're suffering a loss. But it's nothing compared to the loss of security and the loss of dignity that (the victims) have lost. They (the five defendants) didn't care what happened to them."

The charges and resulting sentences:

* William Antonio Gleaton, 26, of Springfield, was sentenced to 40 years for each count of first-degree burglary, 30 years for armed robbery, 20 years each on two counts of assault and batter with intent to kill, five years for pointing and presenting and another five years for possession of a weapon during the commission of a crime.

* Darrell Cornelius Gleaton, 19, of Springfield, was sentenced to 35 years for first-degree burglary, 30 years each for first-degree criminal sexual conduct, armed robbery, and kidnapping. He was also sentenced to 20 years each on two counts of assault and batter with intent to kill.

* Brandon Alzante Staley, 21, of Springfield, was sentenced to 20 years each on charges of first-degree burglary, armed robbery, kidnapping and assault and batter with intent to kill.

* Darone Derricott Jr., 19, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced to 20 years each for three counts of first-degree burglary, armed robbery, kidnapping and assault and battery with intent to kill.

* Ricardo Johnson, 20, of Hyattsville, Md., was sentenced to 20 years each for three counts of first-degree burglary, armed robbery, kidnapping and two counts of assault and battery with intent to kill.

T&D Staff Writer Richard Walker can be reached by e-mail at rwalker @timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5516.

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