Spencer had no criminal record, was working as a security guard and had planned to attend college, his attorney, John Blanchard, said, according to the Times. Further, during his trial, Blanchard said there was no credible evidence that Spencer was the gunman.

But law enforcement authorities argue that after arriving at a crowded Halloween party and spotting Geno Hall, 22, a rival gang member, Spencer left and returned with a gun. Upon his return, Spencer reportedly shot Hall and continued firing as Hall ran and the crowd dispersed, the Times says. Hall, who had reportedly shot and wounded Spencer a year earlier, was among the four people injured, the report says.

Spencer, then 19, tried to run after the shooting, but was arrested in a campus parking lot, the report says. Prosecutors said during trial that Spencer deserved a stiff punishment for shooting into a crowd of people in an effort to settle a score with a rival gang member, the Times says.

During sentencing, Judge Clarke denounced gang violence, but rebuffed a request from prosecutors that Spencer be sentenced to consecutive 40-year prison terms for each of the four counts of attempted murder, which adds up to a life sentence, the Times reports. He ruled that the sentences would run concurrently, meaning Spencer could eventually be eligible for parole, the report says.