In a courtroom filled with weeping family and friends, the teenaged father charged with killing his 2-year-old son in January accepted a plea deal that would imprison him for 20 years. The deal recommends incarceration at a state facility for emotionally and mentally disturbed young criminals.

Darryl Eugene Powell, of the 9400 block of Merust Lane of Gaithersburg, now 18, pleaded guilty Monday in Montgomery County Circuit Court to first-degree child abuse, which carries a 30-year maximum sentence in Maryland when the abuse results in death.

Prosecutors and Powell's public defenders asked Judge Louise G. Scrivener to suspend 10 years and to refer Powell to the Patuxent Institution Youth Program, for which offenders must have "an intellectual impairment or emotional imbalance," according to the state corrections department.

After being indicted for first-degree murder and first-degree child abuse in February, Powell entered a plea of not guilty in March. Under the deal reached Monday, Powell would waive his right to ask state officials to shorten his sentence.

Scrivener cautioned Powell that she did not have to abide by the terms of the plea and said that Patuxent assesses its intake independently of whatever she recommends. She set sentencing for January.

Wearing a green jumpsuit Monday, Powell briskly answered "Yes, ma'am" and "No, ma'am" as Scrivener went through routine questioning to make sure he understood the consequences of pleading guilty.

He did not make any statements. Attempts to reach Powell's relatives were unsuccessful.

Zjaire's maternal relatives accepted the plea deal "reluctantly" and felt let down by Maryland's child laws, Enrico Williams, Zjaire's great-uncle, said after the hearing.

"We will never overcome the senselessness, callousness and brutality of the crime perpetrated against him and the resulting impact on all of our lives," an aunt read from a family statement Monday night. "While we appreciate the hard work and dedication of the States Attorney's office and the prosecuting attorneys, we are disappointed that the laws in Montgomery County are not more severe towards those who heartlessly harm and murder our children. Zjaire was a precious little boy. We will hold him in our hearts forever."

Calls and e-mails to the State's Attorney's office and public defender's office were not returned.

At Monday's plea hearing, Assistant State's Attorney Karla Smith laid out the following timeline of events the night Zjaire died:

The evening of Jan. 6, Powell called Zjaire's mother to ask if his son could spend the night. Zjaire's mother dropped off her son at Powell's house after 2 a.m. Jan. 7. After watching television, Powell and Zjaire went to sleep on different sofas. Powell told police he woke up and found Zjaire unresponsive and laying face down on cushions on the floor.

Powell called 9-1-1 and tried to administer CPR with a technician's help on the phone, said Mary K. Siegfried, Powell's public defender. Police and rescue crews arrived a few minutes later, just after 6:15 a.m.

Zjaire was pronounced dead at Shady Grove Adventist Hospital within the hour. Hospital staff found a cut lip and bruises on his body and face, Smith said. The state medical examiner ruled the death a homicide the next day.

Sitting on opposite sides of the courtroom Monday, family and friends of Powell and Zjaire's mother cried as Smith listed the grisly injuries detailed in the autopsy, which she said were "fresh" and consistent with Zjaire having been beaten and kicked to death.

Correction: This report was corrected to say that the plea deal would incarcerate Darryl Powell for 20 years.