Reginald Lofton, 15, will spend at least 30 years behind bars before the possibility of parole for his role in the murder of Shane Varnadore, 28, of Buford.
Lofton, who was 14 at the time of the crime, and co-defendant Jermaine Young, 21, ordered pizzas from a local Papa Johns store in March with the intention of robbing the driver, prosecutors said.
That driver was Varnadore, who died when he was shot upon his delivery of two pizzas and two dessert items to a Lawrenceville apartment complex.
"He was anything but your average 14-year-old, and his actions and the things he did leading up to the murder itself, took Reginald Lofton out of the realm of of being a 14-year-old and into the realm of someone who was very methodical," said Sabrina Nizam, Gwinnett County assistant district attorney.
"He was going to take this pizza. He was going to take what he wanted by any means necessary. Honestly it didn't matter who showed up that day. It could have been Shane Varnadore. It could have been a pregnant female. It could have been a 16-year-old on his first job."
Lofton's attorneys argued that the teenager didn't pull the trigger, and that he had no idea a gun would even be involved, or that anybody was going to get shot.
They argued that Young was the only perpetrator to be blamed, and that Lofton was merely a bystander caught in the middle.
"Our theory was that both of these individuals planned this armed robbery," said Nizam.
"One acted as a lookout, which we believe was likely Mr. Lofton, and ultimately the point was to take the pizza without paying for it."
Young is set to stand trial in 2017.
