Marsele Henderson is 20. He should have his whole life ahead of him.

Instead, he’s headed to prison for nearly 60 years for shooting a man he didn’t even know.

Henderson learned his fate Friday in a Pierce County courtroom crammed with his relatives and friends and those of Victor Schwenke, the young man he was convicted of killing in November 2008.

Prosecutors say Henderson shot Schwenke, 18, outside a Tacoma house party, apparently in retaliation for the gang-related shooting earlier that evening of a friend of his. Schwenke, who was providing security at the party, was not involved in the earlier violence and didn’t know Henderson.

“He was totally innocent. There was no reason for him to be killed,” said deputy prosecutor Greg Greer, who recommended a high-end sentence of 59 years, four months for Henderson.

Extra security was on hand to guard against a possible outbreak of violence at the sentencing.

Three of Schwenke’s friends jumped Henderson outside a courtroom June 30 as he was being led back to jail following a day of testimony in his first-degree murder trial.

Henderson and three Pierce County corrections officers were hurt in the melee.

But heartbreak was the only thing on display Friday.

Schwenke’s sister Erlene Helsham told Superior Court Judge John McCarthy that her brother’s murder left a huge hole in the family.

“Our family was a whole. Now we’re broken,” Helsham said.

She took note of a face Henderson made while she talked.

“You sit there and smirk,” Helsham said. “That’s fine, because in the end you lose. Victor may be gone, but you’re here, and you have to live with what you’ve done.”

Henderson’s aunt, Melodee Henderson-Silmon, then read a statement on behalf of the defendant’s family.

Henderson-Silmon told Schwenke’s relatives that her family was sorry for the loss of their loved one.

She then asked McCarthy to give her nephew a chance at life. He was 17 when arrested in Schwenke’s death, she said, still trying to find his way in the world.

“People can change,” said Henderson-Silmon, who asked the judge to show compassion and mercy toward her nephew.

Henderson’s attorney, Robert Quillian, asked for a sentence of about 50 years.

Henderson declined to make a statement.

McCarthy sided with Greer.

“It is senseless. Mr. Henderson will have the opportunity, however, to eat, breath and communicate with his family,” the judge said. “The victim’s family will not have the opportunity to do that with their son.”

Adam Lynn: 253-597-8644 adam.lynn@thenewstribune.com blog.thenewstribune.com/crime