Wednesday, November 24, 2010 – Steve Fermier and Associated Press

A 19-year-old who pleaded guilty to shooting a D.C. school principal has been sentenced to 40 years in prison.

Alante Saunders was sentenced Tuesday to 40 years in prison in Montgomery County Circuit Court. He pleaded guilty to felony murder earlier this month.

Prosecutors say Saunders and Brian Betts, the principal of Shaw Middle School, met through a sex chat line and Betts agreed to leave the door of his home open for Saunders.

Betts was found dead in his Silver Spring home April 15 after failing to show up for work. Three other teens have also been charged.

After the hearing, celebrity Los Angeles attorney Gloria Allred said Betts was gay and that she plans to ask federal prosecutors to investigate the slaying as a hate crime. County prosecutors say there’s no indication of a hate crime.