‘He deserves the max,’ mother tells judge sentencing her son’s killer

Overcome by tears, a parent connected Friday addressed the antheral who severely beating her toddler lad successful 2018, causing his decease 3 days later.

“Whatever you got coming, you got coming,” Natalie Miller told Antonio Bridges, her erstwhile boyfriend, astatine his sentencing proceeding Friday morning. “Never did my babe merit it. He was 15 months, not a teenager, not a preteen oregon a pugnacious feline oregon anything.”

Bridges, 37, who appeared remotely from the Clark County Detention Center, declined to talk earlier his sentencing, lone responding “Yes, ma’am” and “No, ma’am” erstwhile addressed by District Judge Michelle Leavitt.

Leavitt past sentenced him to service 11 to 31 years years successful authorities situation connected 1 number of second-degree execution and 1 number of coercion. He got recognition for 1,340 days already served successful jailhouse since his arrest.

Bridges was watching Mark Phillips Jr. connected April 12, 2018, erstwhile helium took him to University Medical Center and told a doc that the 1-year-old lad was breathing “funny,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Christopher Hamner said during his trial.

A aesculapian introspection astatine UMC — wherever his parent coincidentally was hospitalized astatine the clip — showed that Mark had a fractured skull, encephalon bleeding and injuries to his liver, spleen and a lung.

The Metropolitan Police Department aboriginal recovered footage from a Las Vegas flat analyzable that showed the lad “perfectly mean and healthy” soon earlier being brought to the hospital, prosecutors said.

Three days later, Mark was dormant from aggregate blunt unit injuries, said the Clark County coroner’s office, which ruled his decease a homicide.

Authorities accused Bridges of hitting and kicking the lad and booked him connected counts of first-degree execution and kid maltreatment oregon neglect causing death.

Bridges agreed to an Alford plea connected Sept. 1, which means helium admitted lone that determination was capable grounds to beryllium his guilt astatine trial.

Under the agreement, prosecutors agreed to driblet charges of artillery by a captive and battle connected an serviceman by a captive and possession of a unsafe limb by an incarcerated idiosyncratic aft Clark County jailhouse officials recovered 2 shanks successful his compartment months aft his arrest.

Bridges, a four-time felon successful Georgia who had conscionable moved to Las Vegas, was connected parole for robbery astatine the clip of the crime.

Bridges maintained his innocence successful the boy’s decease passim his trial.

“I inactive judge 100 percent successful his innocence,” Deputy Public Defender David Westbrook told the tribunal successful September. “He took the woody due to the fact that helium was scared, and I recognize wherefore helium was scared.”

Westbrook did not connection further remark Friday.

Mark’s mother, however, said her beingness was turned “upside down” by her son’s death. She said she inactive has nightmares and that to accidental she’s been depressed would beryllium an “understatement.”

“I’m a pistillate of religion and I spot God,” she added.

Miller said her parent had asked her to thin connected that religion to find forgiveness. She agreed that she volition yet request to, but said Friday was not the clip for it.

“He deserves the max — beingness — beingness with nary parole. I cognize it ain’t up to me, but that’s however I feel. He took an guiltless child’s life. A kid that belonged to God,” she told Leavitt.

Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez astatine rtorres@reviewjournal.com. Follow him connected Twitter @rickytwrites.