A Utah teenager who fatally shot his younger stepbrother last year has been sentenced to up to 15 years in custody, despite growing up in a household where gun safety was a known value, according to the victim’s mother.
Haegan Sagers, now 17, was sentenced on July 15 to a term of two to 15 years in a juvenile detention facility and adult prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter in the September 2024 killing of 14-year-old Malaki Porter. Sagers was initially charged as an adult with murder but reached a plea deal earlier this year.
At sentencing, Malaki’s mother, Stormi Hass, told the court that both boys had been raised with an understanding of firearm safety and the dangers of guns. Still, she said, Sagers “had no qualms about pulling the trigger” and acted with awareness of what he was doing.
“He stated he wanted to harm Malaki, knowing the repercussions of what firearms can inflict on another,” Hass said in court, according to reporting by local NBC affiliate KSL.
Hass was in a relationship with Sagers’ father and lived with both boys as part of a blended family. In emotional remarks to the court, she said, “Not only did I lose one child that day, I lost both of my boys.” Still, she made clear that she believed Sagers needed to be held accountable for his actions.
Though prosecutors did not argue that the shooting was premeditated, investigators introduced evidence showing Sagers had previously expressed violent thoughts toward his stepbrother. The teen reportedly displayed what prosecutors described as “a predilection toward violent problem-solving,” and had voiced a desire to harm—or even kill—Porter in the weeks leading up to the incident.
The shooting occurred on Sept. 22, 2024. During the investigation, Sagers gave shifting accounts of what happened. He initially claimed that Porter had the gun and it discharged during a struggle. Later, Sagers admitted he had taken the firearm and, believing Porter intended to hurt him, intentionally pointed it at Porter’s left shoulder and pulled the trigger. He said he intended to injure his stepbrother, not kill him.
At the sentencing hearing, Sagers offered an apology for the killing, expressing remorse and regret.
“If I could say anything to Malaki, it would be how sorry I am, and how we should have talked through our problems,” he told the court. “Although he and I had our issues, he was a great friend and the best little brother you could ask for. I am very sorry.”
Malaki Porter’s death remains a tragic example of what can happen when family tensions, adolescent volatility, and firearms intersect—even in homes where safety is taught.
