Updated

An Abilene teenager has been sentenced to life in prison for beating a homeless man to death in a trash bin.

Sixteen-year-old Michael Martinez Jr. was tried as an adult in the 2007 death of 48-year-old Eric McMahon.

Martinez received the maximum sentence Wednesday and will be eligible for parole in 30 years.

During the trial, Martinez testified that he was drunk and had left a party when he saw the homeless man in a trash container. He said another unknown man with a gun told him to get inside the bin, and kick and throw brick pieces at the homeless man.

But his confession to police does not mention the unknown man with a gun. And a witness testified that Martinez, who was then 15, laughed as he kicked and hit McMahon.