Just over two years ago, a 9-year-old Ingram boy picked up a gun he found in his apartment, went to a bedroom window and fired the weapon at a tree near the Crafton-Ingram Shopping Center.

		Previous coverage Crafton mother pleads not guilty (4/15/04) Boy, 10, admits to firing shot that killed postal worker (3/23/04) Probe of postman's killing covers 2 states (6/25/03)

The bullet did not hit the tree, but instead fatally pierced the back of U.S. Postal Service carrier Clayton J. Smith as he stood next to his truck under the tree in the shopping center parking lot.

Reverberations from that gunshot were felt yesterday in an emotionally charged federal courtroom as the boy's mother, Latoya Burnette, was sentenced to 18 months in prison because she was a convicted felon who had a gun, then denied it to investigators.

Savon Burnette, now 11, yesterday sat nervously next to his grandmother as U.S. District Judge Terrence McVerry explained why Savon's mother would go to jail instead of being sentenced to house arrest or probation as suggested by her attorney. Assistant U.S. Attorney Bruce Teitelbaum called Savon "an innocent victim."

"This case presents a tragedy of epic proportions," McVerry said.

Assistant Federal Public Defender Michael Novara told McVerry that Savon has been traumatized by the incident and has been barely able to discuss it during more than a dozen counseling sessions the family has participated in near their home in North Carolina.

But the judge made it clear who was at fault in the events that resulted in Smith's death.

"It must be very clear the sentencing being imposed is not based on the actions of your child," McVerry told Burnette, but added, "Your child must be made to understand that violations of the law carry consequences."

The death of Smith in the middle of the day stumped investigators for months because there was no apparent motive, like robbery.

After Smith, 45, of Colliers, W.Va., was shot, U.S. postal inspectors conducted interviews with residents of the area around the Crafton-Ingram Shopping Center, including Burnette, in an effort to determine the source of the gun that fired the fatal bullet.

Burnette lied to the investigators when they went to her apartment, telling them she did not own a gun and would never have one in her apartment with children around. At the time, Burnette lived in the apartment with Savon and his 7-year-old sister, Tahira.

But early last year, Burnette's ownership of a .380-caliber revolver surfaced during her preliminary hearing on a charge of aggravated assault. Ingram police notified federal investigators, who searched Burnette's apartment and found a box for the gun, a bullet and an extra magazine for ammunition. The investigation revealed that Burnette bought the gun in January 1999 at a North Carolina pawnshop.

Burnette, who was convicted in 2000 in North Carolina for assault with a deadly weapon, was arrested last March in North Carolina after postal inspectors talked to Savon and he admitted he fired the shot that killed Smith.

Burnette, 31, tearfully apologized again to Smith's family as she had when she pleaded guilty in March and told McVerry she and her family have been traumatized by the incident.

"I try not to cry because I try to be strong for [Savon], but it hurts, it really hurts," Burnette said.

McVerry allowed Burnette to remain free on bond and to report to prison on her own when she is contacted by the U.S. marshal's service, probably within the next two months. The judge also recommended that Burnette be allowed to serve her sentence at a prison close to North Carolina.