BLOOMINGTON - A 15-year-old Harvey youth was sentenced to 14 years in prison Thursday for his part in a June carjacking at a Bloomington-Normal retail store.

Kendall Morgan, who has ties to Bloomington-Normal, also was ordered to pay $715 restitution for damages to the vehicle he and a 16-year-old, who also was sentenced in adult court, carjacked.

Judge Kevin Fitzgerald, in imposing the prison sentence, said a significant sentence for the armed robbery charge was needed to deter others.

Fitzgerald described Morgan's actions as extremely serious.

"The citizens of McLean County need to feel safe in going about their everyday business," he said.

Authorities said Morgan and Carl Anderson, 16, Bloomington, took a woman's minivan at gunpoint in the June 17 incident at Wal-Mart Supercenter on West Market Street. The victim said she refused their demand to get into the vehicle.

The van was crashed a short time later at a nearby apartment complex, but the handgun shown in the incident has not been found, authorities said.

Anderson, who lived in the 400 block of North Mason Street, was sentenced in April to 12½ years in prison.

Anderson and Morgan each pleaded guilty to armed robbery. Morgan's case initially was in junvenile court, but he was sentenced as an adult.

Fitzgerald said he found Morgan, who displayed the gun, to be more culpable than Anderson.

McLean County Assistant State's Attorney Jeff Horve sought a sentence of 15 years, the maximum allowed under a plea agreement. Armed robbery, a Class X felony, can carry a possible prison term of six to 30 years.

"The defendant was the driving force in this. In broad daylight he stuck a gun in the face of the victim," Horve said.

Before Fitzgerald imposed his sentence, Morgan, who will get credit for 333 days already served, apologized to the victim and to his own family.

Defense lawyer Terry Dodds said he wouldn't try to minimize what Morgan did, but he pointed out that his client came from a broken home and that his father was "in and out of prison."

Dodds also said Morgan's boasts of gang involvement likely are exaggerated.