One of six juveniles charged in the fatal shooting of a 19-year-old man in Olathe, Kansas, in May has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
The 14-year-old male entered the plea in Johnson County District Court on Wednesday. He had been charged with first-degree murder.
“He’s going to have to serve time,” Carl Cornwell, his attorney, told KCUR. “If he gets all of his good-time credit, he’s going to have to serve 'til he’s about 20, or somewhere along in there.”
KCUR is not naming the teen because he is a minor. His sentencing has been scheduled for August 24.
He was one of six teens charged in the death of Smithville, Missouri, resident Marco Cardino, in what appears to have been a marijuana deal gone awry at Black Bob Park.
Police were dispatched to the park just before 4 a.m. on May 14 after receiving reports of gunshots. Cardino had been shot multiple times, and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Court records indicate police believe the teens planned to rob Cardino of a bag of marijuana that he intended to sell to them.
Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe charged all six teens with felony murder. Four of them, including the teen who pleaded guilty on Wednesday, were charged as adults.
The other two, who were 13 when the shooting occurred, can’t be tried as adults under Kansas law.
Court records indicate a second teen plans to enter a guilty plea on August 24.
A third, female teen is scheduled to go to trial on December 12.
