CROWN POINT | After telling the judge, "I don't know how I got convicted," Sajjad Rasheed heard he'd be going to prison for 270 years.
Lake Criminal Court Judge Diane Ross Boswell sentenced Rasheed to 60 years each for the April 5, 2005 murders of Brittney Hott, 19, Andrew Espinoza, 19, and Lindsay Davidson, 20, and 45 years each for the attempted murders of David Williams and Darryl Mosley.
Boswell ordered the sentences served consecutively, essentially granting Deputy Prosecutor David Urbanski's request that Rasheed's sentence guarantee he'll die in prison.
Rasheed, 24, of Gary, listened to victims' family members and friends speak of their crushing loss, then stood at the podium and insisted he never went to 3808 Alabama St. in Hobart on the night of the slayings.
"I don't blame them for wanting to see the person they believe is responsible pay for it," Rasheed said. "I'm not that person."
The only time Rasheed spoke directly to the victims' families, he turned, stared at them and said, "I was not at that house."
Prosecutors contend that Rasheed, an admitted drug dealer under FBI surveillance, went to William's rented house to quash the drug dealing he felt was cutting into his business.
In the courtroom Thursday, Michael Hott, Brittney's father, accused Rasheed of holding his own court the night he shot five people in the head.
"I remember your dad testifying that when one of your puppies was sick, you cried all night," Hott said. "Did you cry when you shot my daughter?"
Mike Hott is a Hobart firefighter and has a police scanner at home.
Dawn Hott remembered listening to the scanner traffic that night, hearing the horror of her daughter's murder unfold.
"The what-ifs are the hardest to deal with," Dawn Hott said. "What if she had taken home the baby wipes as she was asked? What if she had taken a different job so she wouldn't have been out so late that night?"
After saying how much she missed her older sister, Tasha Hott spoke words not often heard at a murder sentencing.
"Thank you for bringing my family closer together," Tasha told Rasheed.
Andrew Espinoza's father, Ruben Espinoza, said he may look OK on the outside, but "inside my heart is broken beyond repair."
Of the three men arrested and convicted for the murders, only two admitted they were even at the house. None of the three admitted firing any bullets into the heads of the five victims. This marked the second trial for Rasheed. The first ended with a hung jury last year.
Carl Major is serving a 175-year sentence for the crimes.
Kirby Oliver cut a deal with the prosecution in which he pleaded guilty to three murders and agreed to testify against Rasheed and Major in exchange for a 45-year sentence.
