[brief] First, [...] merged defendant's conviction for possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, count two, into the murder charge, count one.  (9T20-5 to 9).  Then, he noted that he found aggravating factors three, six, and nine, along with mitigating factor fourteen.  (9T20-12 to 14).  [...] then went through his findings for each factor.  Regarding aggravating factor three, N.J.S.A. 2C:44–1(a)(3) (risk of defendant committing another offense), [...] noted that defendant had "not shown a scintilla of remorse for his actions."  (9T20-20 to 21-3).  But he stated that he was "independently" finding aggravating factor three, "because [defendant] has an extensive juvenile record."  He gave it substantial weight "because it evinces . . . in him an ingrained disregard for the law starting an at early age."  (9T21-4 to 6; 9T21-15 to 17).  He also gave defendant's "chronic unemployment" moderate weight, noting that "it appears [defendant] has no legitimate means of supporting himself and is involved in criminal activities to support himself."  (9T21-18 to 23).  Thus, defendant's lack of remorse was only one consideration of [...] in finding aggravating factor three applied.  And the State's request for a finding of lack of remorse did not stem solely from defendant maintaining his innocence but also because he refused to come to sentencing twice, despite family coming from out of state.  (9T13-13 to 14-4).  Defendant also agreed greed that aggravating factors three and nine were present.  (9T6-1 to 4).  As a result, there was no error in finding that factor.  [...] gave substantial weight to aggravating factor six, N.J.S.A. 2C:44-1(a)(6) (extent of the defendant's prior criminal record and the seriousness of the offenses of which the defendant has been convicted), "as it appears that the defendant has been involved in significant criminal activities for a substantial period of time."  (9T22-13 to 16).  He then gave moderate weight to aggravating factor nine, N.J.S.A. 2C:44–1(a)(9) (the need for deterring the defendant and others from violating the law), "because there is without a question the need to deter [defendant] from engaging in criminal behavior and deter others similarly situated."  (9T22-17 to 21).  [...] gave "minuscule weight" to mitigating factor fourteen, N.J.S.A. 2C:44-1(b)(14), the defendant was under 26 years of age at the time of the commission of the offense, noting that defendant "was certainly entitled to it because he was under the age of 26 at the time of this event" but acknowledged that "he was three months away from being 26 years of age."  . . . (9T22-22 to 23-10).  But when determining the overall length of the sentence, [...] considered his age and its potential impact on the sentence.  (9T23-11 to 16).  As a result, defendant received proper consideration of his age during sentencing, and there was no error.  Ultimately, [...] found that the aggravating factors "preponderate[d] over the mitigating factors."  (9T24-2 to 14).  Thus, for count one, [...] properly sentenced defendant to fifty-five years in a New Jersey State Prison subject to NERA, and for count three, an eight-year concurrent State Prison term with forty-eight months of parole ineligibility under the Graves Act.  (9T24-15 to 25-6).  This sentence represented a fair balancing of the aggravating and mitigating factors.  CONCLUSION