A 21-year-old man is today beginning a jail sentence of at least 35 years for the cold-blooded murder of his close friend.Kevin Warner was just 20 when he shot 24-year-old Dekimo “Purple” Martin in the back at the victim's home.Jailing him for life yesterday, Puisne Judge Carlisle Greaves said he'd “deviously betrayed” his friend, and described him as a “cunning manipulator” who deserves a lengthy sentence.Only after Warner has served 35 years will the parole board be able to consider him for release. His sentencing hearing heard that he has become a father to twins; a girl and a boy, since his arrest for the killing.Warner, from Warwick, was convicted of premeditated murder by the unanimous verdict of a jury after his trial in May. He was further convicted of carrying a gun to use in the killing.The jury heard he shot the victim three times in the back from close range at his family home on Peacock Crescent, Somerset, on May 28, 2010.Witnesses told Warner's trial he had been a close family friend of the victim and was the last person seen talking to him before gunshots rang out through the night.No motive for the killing has ever been discovered, and Martin has continued to maintain his innocence.Reacting to the sentence, the victim's sister Danielle Martin, 32, said: “I am really, really happy. Now my brother can rest in peace.”Asked how she feels about Warner, she replied: “I have no feelings towards him.”The trial heard Mr Martin had been enjoying a barbecue at home with his family on the night of his death. Warner had also been invited, although the victim's family told the trial he did not seem his normal self.Around 1am, when most people had gone to bed, the two men were heard talking alone outside. Then, gunshots rang out.Danielle Martin told the trial she rushed outside and saw a man matching Warner's appearance running down the road. She then heard her brother gasping and moaning in the darkness.In a victim impact statement read to the court by prosecutor Robert Welling yesterday, Ms Martin explained she ended up on sleep medication and encountering crying spells in the aftermath of the killing.“I still hear the shots and I still hear my brother gasping for air. The memory of my brother lying there is still very fresh in my mind,” she said.The trial heard in the hours after the murder, Warner asked a friend, Charlita Campbell, to give him an alibi for the time of the killing. Ms Campbell gave evidence that she later found Warner cleaning himself with vinegar and bleach.The judge said yesterday this was a clear effort to get rid of the forensic evidence.Officers found bullet casings and Warner's driving licence at the murder scene. Further tests on his bike revealed traces of material found in gunshot residue.Warner later handed himself in to police because he had heard that many people suspected he was responsible for the murder.Forensic tests revealed the gun used to kill Mr Martin had been used in four other shootings, including the murder of Colford Ferguson in February 2011 and the attempted murder of Randy Lightbourne last July.Prosecutor Robert Welling stated during the sentencing hearing that this weapon “is characterised as a gun belonging to the west end gang MOB”.Puisne Judge Carlisle Greaves said there was no evidence in the case that Warner was a member of MOB. Police gang expert Alex Rollin alleged that Warner's older brother Kavon Hart is an associate of that gang, and named Warner as an associate of the White Hill Crew.Both factions are based in the west end of the Island.Meting out the sentence, Mr Justice Greaves said there was no evidence this was a “tit for tat” gang shooting.“No motive has been established, although much is open to speculation,” he remarked.Warner told police he did not shoot Mr Martin. He did not take the witness stand during his trial and declined to address the sentencing hearing.Various family members of the victim had their victim impact statements read to the court by prosecutor Mr Welling.Mr Martin's mother, Movita Martin, urged in hers: “Please Bermuda, come together to put an end to this madness. What is it going to take?”Other family members said they no longer felt safe in their own home since Mr Martin was slaughtered there.Meting out Warner's sentence, Mr Justice Greaves gave his sympathy to the family.“To be so deviously betrayed by one who was embraced by a family as one of them, fed housed and bedded, with no explanation for the cold blooded murder of their loved one must strike at the core of their souls,” he said.“I think this was a terrible murder.”He said of Warner: “I find him to be a cunning manipulator who must not be underestimated, even at his relatively young age. In my opinion he manipulated the family of the deceased that night until he could grab the opportunity to murder Dekimo as he must have planned. He manipulated Charlita Campbell, his friend, to lie for him. He was clever enough to seek to dissipate the forensic evidence.”Furthermore, said the judge, Warner continues to “manipulate the system” through protesting his innocence “in the face of what this court considers to be strong and compelling evidence”.WARNER'S RUN-INS WITH THE LAWAged just 21, Kevin Warner already has a history of run-ins with the law behind him as he now starts a life sentence for murder.Prior to the cold-blooded shooting of his 24-year-old friend Dekimo Martin, he'd already been accused of killing another young man; teenager Kellon Hill.Warner was said by prosecutors to have been part of a group of youths who attacked Mr Hill, 18, as he left a beach party in August 2008. He died from stab wounds.Then aged just 18 himself, Warner admitted to police that he hit Mr Hill with a walking stick, causing Mr Hill to fall and the stick to break.However, he insisted he had not stabbed Mr Hill and said someone else had done that.He and three other teenagers accused in the case walked free from court after the judge ruled they had no case to answer on murder charges.Warner's family home in Warwick was firebombed the day after he was cleared.A fifth teenager, Kellan Lewis, was later convicted of the manslaughter of Mr Hill after a retrial. He is serving a 12-year sentence.Kellan Lewis is the cousin of Warner's victim, Dekimo Martin. Warner's trial for murdering Mr Martin heard how he and Lewis were best friends.Prior to the Kellon Hill case, Warner was convicted in March 2008 of possessing a bladed article in a public place; a four-inch kitchen knife.He was given a three-year prison sentence, but it was suspended for 12 months.Last September, when he was in prison on remand awaiting trial for the Martin murder, Warner was caught with cannabis in his cell.He admitted the crime and was handed a six-month sentence.