New Philadelphia, Ohio (WTUZ) – After opposing sentence arguments from attorneys, a 23-year-old is heading to prison in a homicide case.

Compelling viewpoints during the Friday afternoon sentencing of Kyle Boyd caused Judge Edward O’Farrell to take almost half an hour to consider the outcome for the charges of involuntary manslaughter and conspiracy in the death of 19-year-old Luke Cabbage.

Tuscarawas County Prosecutor Mike Ernest asked the judge to give the maximum penalty of seven years. Ernest stated that the heart of the case stems from Boyd’s excessive use of drugs on the night of September 11, 2017, leading up to the shooting, the indication that they had been friends for at least a year, and that Boyd had some knowledge a gun was being taken to the drug buy.

Defense Attorney Steven Stickles noted that Boyd had the least active role the night Cabbage died due to him being in a drugged state and was asleep during the trip to Tuscarawas County and during the crime. Stickles asked the judge to place Boyd in a drug treatment program.

The victim’s mother, Cathy Cabbage, was in attendance and Boyd took a moment to address her.

“There’s no words to say how sorry I am for your loss, and also, there’s a lot of weight on my shoulders too. I just don’t know what to say besides I’m sorry for your loss and I never expected anyone to get hurt at all.”

Judge O’Farrell sentenced Boyd to four years in prison with the possibility of release after 18-months.

“There are 39 [jail] days credited, as of today, which will be denoted against that four years. I believe that your participation in this criminal conduct is not as serious as [the other two co-defendants]. I’m promising you that I’m going to grant that [release] assuming that you do not have any write-ups or punishments.”

If released, Boyd will then go to the EOCC treatment center followed by community supervision.

Co-defendant Arnoldo Orduno is spending a life sentence in prison for the Newcomerstown murder and co-defendant Jordan Robinson is spending seven years in prison. - Mary Alice Reporting