Mercy appeal fails for man who fatally shot teen friend 10 years ago

Saam Rajaei was 17 when he accidentally shot and killed his friend James Cartigiano. Now 27, Rajaei appeared in court on Aug. 6 to make one final plea for leniency.

Circuit Judge Sherri Collins denied it, rejecting Rajaei's request for a new trial and to be sentenced as the juvenile he was when he pulled the trigger. Instead, she ordered him to serve 10 years in prison for the 2016 shooting death of Cartigiano, whom he had known since kindergarten, at a home in suburban Delray Beach.

"When you lose a spouse, you become a widow or widower. When you lose a parent, you become an orphan. But there is no word for when you loose a child," Collins said from the bench.

Her decision came after three hours of emotional testimony from both families. One begged for mercy, and the other for the harshest penalty the state allows.

"You took everything from James," said Gloria Cartigiano, James' mother, sobbing from the witness stand. "This is a life sentence, this is forever and that is what you deserve, a life sentence."

"He shouldn't have the choice to have a life and enjoy everything that he took from James," she added. "He should go for the max and even so, that would not be enough."

Rajaei shot Cartigiano on Jan. 22, 2016, while the two Olympic Heights High School students and two other teens gathered at a home on Sawpine Drive, west of Florida's Turnpike.

That evening, Rajaei and one of the teens had been "dry firing" a revolver in an upstairs bedroom, according to court records. Another teen later loaded the gun without telling Rajaei, brought it downstairs and placed it on the kitchen counter. 

When Cartigiano arrived, he picked up the revolver and began waving it, Rajaei told investigators. Rajaei moved to take the gun from him, pulling the trigger in the process.

Paramedics took Cartigiano to Delray Medical Center with a gunshot wound to the head. Doctors removed him from life support five days later.

Rajaei told detectives he didn't know the gun was loaded and didn't mean to hurt Cartigiano.

Investigators arrested Rajaei nearly a year after the shooting. Over the next several years, he rejected plea offers from the State Attorney's Office and tried to persuade a judge to throw out the case, arguing at times that the charge was unconstitutional, that he'd pulled the trigger to save his life.

When those efforts failed, he opted to fight the charge at trial. Prosecutors offered a final plea deal in the middle of jury selection, promising Rajaei a one-year jail sentence in exchange for his guilty plea. Rajaei's attorneys urged him to take the deal, but he maintained his innocence instead.

Jurors convicted Rajaei of manslaughter with a firearm soon after, capping a 10-year legal battle. The conviction carried a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.

Friends, relatives and supporters of both families packed the courtroom for Rajaei's sentencing hearing.

Prosecutors portrayed Rajaei as careless teen whose actions cost Cartigiano his life and devastated his family. Defense attorneys pointed to Rajaei's depression after the shooting and his record of staying employed and out of trouble during nearly 10 years on house arrest.

Gloria Cartigiano described her son as a kind and happy teenager who loved reciting lines from his favorite films. He hoped to attend Florida Atlantic University and one day start his own business, she said.

She testified that her son had distanced himself from Rajaei before the shooting, describing him as angry, manipulative and a bully who mocked him. She suggested the shooting was intentional.

"You betrayed James. You betray him in the worst way," Gloria Cartigiano said. "The pain we need to live every day is devastating. It's devastating."

Rajaei's family, friends and co-workers painted a different picture. They said the shooting profoundly changed him, causing him to lose weight, withdraw and struggle with depression.

"Gloria, you tried to make a monster out of Saam," Rajaei's father, Sina Rajaei, said in tears from the courtroom. "These kids loved each other. There was no hate between them."

He asked Collins to show mercy because his son was only 17 when the shooting occurred.

The younger Rajaei spoke directly to the Cartigiano's family.

"I will have to live with this for the rest of my life, and that's OK," Rajaei said. "But it's terrible that you have to live without James for the rest of your lives."

"I'm so sorry," Rajaei repeated several times. "No matter what punishment the court gives me, you're right. It doesn't make up for anything."

Defense attorneys argued that Rajaei had shown genuine remorse, noting he got tattoos in Cartigiano's memory and complied with the conditions of house arrest for nearly a decade.

"This is a good man who made a horrible, horrible mistake," said Jack Fleischman, one of those attorneys. "He was a child at 17 years old who pulled the trigger of a gun he believed was empty."

Prosecutors had sought a 15-year prison sentence, citing Rajaei's age and his lack of a criminal record as reasons for not requesting the 30-year maximum.

"This might have been a mistake, but it's the most costly mistake someone can make," Assistant State Attorney Jo Wilensky told the court.

In announcing her sentence, Collins said she saw a distinction between sympathy and accountability.

"I do not find that he has accepted responsibility for his actions," Collins said.

An attorney for Rajaei told Collins he plan to appeal her decision. Attempts to reach his office were not successful.

Valentina Palm covers immigration and West Palm Beach for The Palm Beach Post. Email her at [email protected] and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @ValenPalmB.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Mercy appeal fails for man who fatally shot teen friend 10 years ago