NEW ORLEANS , Three men have pleaded guilty to a shooting in summer that left a New Orleans girl, 12, dead. This was in an area already suffering from a rising number of murders.
The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate reported Wednesday that Todriana Peters’ parents were present in courtroom when three men pleaded guilty. Pernell Young admitted that he opened fire at the graduation party on May 30, while prosecutors stated that Tyrese Riley and Marcus Venible were not the shooters.
Peters’ murder was one of many homicides that began last year and have shaken the city. New Orleans saw a rise in deaths in 2020 after a year that saw the city’s lowest number of homicides for nearly 50 years. According to the City Council’s website, homicides this year are up 5% compared to the same period last year .
Alex Calenda, Assistant District Attorney, told the court that Riley, Venible, and Young were riding in a pair car on their way home from graduation when they were attacked by someone. Young’s car was also hit. They saw a car they thought was involved in the shooting when they arrived at the party. Young’s group included seven men who opened fire on Peters. Peters had stopped at the party to get her phone charged and was about to go home to her grandmother.
According to the newspaper Young pleaded guilty in manslaughter and conspiracy to commit second degree murder. He also admitted illegal discharge of weapons during violence crimes and obstruction of justice. Young was sentenced to ten year imprisonment for the first count, with no sentencing on the other charges.
Venible and Riley were sentenced to eight years imprisonment on the charges of conspiring for second-degree murder, and conspiring for the illegal discharge of weapons during a crime. They were also sentenced to five years for accessory after the fact of second-degree murder.
All three lawyers declined to comment.
Seven others were also indicted in connection with the shooting.
Peters would have been 13 years old on Sept. 20,
