Teen killer wants to apologize to mother of man he killed: 'I'm sorry for her loss'

ATLANTA — A teenager serving time for murder told Channel 2 Action News he wants to apologize to all of his victims.

Investigators say he and his brother went on a nonstop crime rampage that included the killing of a beloved community member.

[READ: Judge on sentencing of killer brothers: 'The court system failed this community']

Charlie McDaniel turned 18 years old while in prison. McDaniel, and his younger brother, Isaac McDaniel, were sentenced to 45 years in prison, with 18 to serve, for crimes that included the killing of Anthony Brooks in 2016.

"How many times do you believe Atlanta police stopped you for a crime you actually committed?" Channel 2 investigative reporter Mark Winne asked Charlie McDaniel in a jailhouse interview Friday.

“A whole lot,” McDaniel said.

[READ: Mother of teens accused of murder: 'I've been asking for help']

Atlanta police Maj. Rick Mason said before the murder, the brothers were already notorious to police officers in the city.

“The two were a menace to society. It was a crime spree that was never ending," Mason said.

Charlie McDaniel said he wants an opportunity to apologize to Brooks' mother, which is one reason he said yes to Winne’s interview request.

[READ: Victim's loved ones say teens' surrender to police in deadly shooting was 'an act']

“I’m sorry. It wasn’t supposed to went down like that,” McDaniel said. “I’m sorry for her loss.”

McDaniel told Winne that he came from a home with two loving, working parents, but the road leading to murder started when he followed the wrong crowd in middle school.

He said he broke into his first car about age 12 and had guns at age 14.

“Folks you victimized by breaking into cars, what do you want to say to those people?” Winne asked McDaniel.

“I’m sorry and stuff. Hopefully when I get out, I know they might not want to see my face, but I want to see them, apologize to them and stuff,” McDaniel said.

The teen said the late Fulton County Juvenile Court Judge Willie Lovett tried to steer him off the road he was on, but mental health programs to which the judge wanted to send him didn’t accept him because of his record.

[2 Investigates: Jailing Juveniles: Judge says flaw allowed kids to work the system]

“It is absolutely true,” defense attorney Adeline Alexander told Winne. “Gang offense in particular was one of the things that kept him out of the facilities."

McDaniel said he has earned his GED in prison and is barbering there.\

“I’m happy for him and I’m proud of him, but he did something he shouldn’t have done, and he’s gone have to pay the price,” Mason said.

“What do you hope to do when you get out of prison?” Winne asked McDaniel.

“Follow the right path. Be somebody in life,” McDaniel said.

Cox Media Group