A state judge sentenced Makuola Collins today to the mandatory life prison term with the possibility for parole, plus six years, for killing his former Castle High School football teammate Joel Botelho.

Circuit Judge Karen Ahn also ordered Collins, 28, to spend at least 15 years of his sentence behind bars before he is eligible for parole because he used a firearm to kill Botelho.

The Hawaii Paroling Authority can set a higher minimum.

The six years is for carrying a firearm without a permit.

Ahn rejected the prosecutor’s request to extend the mandatory sentence for murder to life in prison without the opportunity for parole, or in the alternative, to run the sentences for all the crimes of which Collins was convicted back-to-back.

A state jury found Collins guilty of murder in the Jan. 2, 2011, shooting death of Botelho, attempted murder for shooting at Botelho’s younger brother Leon, using a firearm to commit the crimes, carrying a firearm without a permit and drug and drug paraphernalia possession.