A Martinsville teenager once accused of shooting and killing his 16-year-old brother will serve a five-year sentence in the state Department of Juvenile Justice's serious offender program.

Rodney A. Joyce had been charged with first-degree murder in the Feb. 14, 2007, shooting of Robin E. Joyce Jr. The younger Joyce was 14 at the time of his brother's death.

Rodney Joyce also had been charged with using a firearm in a felony, shooting a firearm in an occupied dwelling and possession of a firearm by a person previously convicted of an act that would have been a felony if committed by an adult.

Joyce was tried as an adult in Martinsville Circuit Court in July. Joyce's defense argued that his brother's killing was an accident. After two days of testimony, a jury found him not guilty of all the charges except possession of a firearm as a felon, said Martinsville Commonwealth's Attorney Joan Ziglar.

The firearm conviction carries a mandatory minimum punishment of five years. At Joyce's sentencing Wednesday, Judge David Williams imposed that punishment but ruled it will be carried out in the juvenile justice system.

-- Mike Allen