Carlos Caro, who stole his cellmate's breakfast and then strangled him when he complained, was formally sentenced to death Friday in federal court in Abingdon.

The court session was a legal punctuation to last month's jury decision that Caro was too dangerous to live -- even in the confines of a prison more secure than the Lee County federal penitentiary where he murdered Robert Sandoval in 2003. The judge was required by law to impose the jury's sentence, Heidi Coy, spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office in Roanoke, wrote in an e-mail.

U.S. Attorney John Brownlee, who prosecuted the case with Assistant U.S. Attorney Tony Giorno, issued a statement saying Caro's criminal history warranted death. "This sentence will ensure that he will never hurt another person," Brownlee said.

A jury found Caro guilty of first-degree murder Feb. 1 and sentenced him to death Feb. 13.

Caro's attorneys have until April 23 to file an appeal.

-- Mike Gangloff