FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) — A man arrested in the death an 18-year-old during a drug deal gone bad in August 2016 has been sentenced, but he won’t be going to prison.

Devyn Yancey was sentenced to 16 years for Aggravated Battery, but a judge dismissed 14 1/2 years and ordered probation and ordered 1 1/2 executed. Yancey, though, has already served that time in jail, so he will be released.

Yancey had faced charges of Murder, Felony Murder, Robbery and Aggravated Battery related to the Aug. 14, 2016, killing of 18-year-old Brian Quintana of Fort Wayne in the 1900 block of River Run Trail, in the Woodbridge Apartments complex.

According to court documents, Yancey and Kevin Hamilton went to the complex to meet Quintana to buy marijuana. Beforehand, Yancey told Hamilton to bring a gun because Quintana had shorted him in past deals.

At the apartment complex, the three got into a car together. At some point, Yancey and Quintana began to fight in the front seat, the affidavit said. At that point, Yancey told Hamilton to shoot Quintana, the affidavit said.

Hamilton then opened fire and Hamilton and Yancey fled, court records show. Police and medics found Quintana in the lot. He would die from his injuries at a local hospital later.

Yancey and Hamilton were arrested after the shooting; Hamilton was ultimately sentenced to 74 years in prison for his role, but Yancey was initially not charged due to “insufficient evidence,” according to the Allen County Prosecutor’s Office.

Later, though, Fort Wayne Police said “after thorough investigation by homicide detectives an arrest has been made,” and Yancey was re-arrested and charged.

In January then, a jury acquitted him robbery, but was not able to come to a decision on the Murder and Felony Murder charges.

Last month, Yancey pleaded guilty to Aggravated Battery through a plea agreement with Allen County prosecutors.

In court Friday, Judge David Zent asked Quintana’s father if he was aware of the plea agreement.

“I totally disagree with this,” the man said. “There is no justice. Where is the justice?”

The Allen County Prosecutor’s Office on Friday afternoon issued the following explanation for offering the plea agreement:

Since the Defendant was not the shooter, our best opportunity for a conviction was the Felony Murder charge.  Given the jury verdict in January we were forced to dismiss that charge.  Between the last trial and the recent trial date we fought to put ourselves in the best possible position to win the remaining count.  Ultimately given the remaining available evidence we felt that we had a chance to succeed at trial but that there was significant risk in trying the case.  We made a strategic decision to enter into this plea.
We hurt for the victim’s family.  We spoke to them before the Defendant pled guilty and we cannot imagine what this process has been like for them.  We respect and in many ways share their frustration.
Our office charges and tries hard cases.  While this result is not what we hoped for when we filed the case, the record shows how hard we fought. 

Yancey’s sentence requires him to serve one year on community control (ankle bracelet) and he must serve 100 hours of community service. He’ll also be placed on probation for 4 years.