A young man accused of fatally shooting a Virginia teen who had received his high school diploma minutes earlier at a public event last year pleaded guilty Thursday to first-degree murder and firearms charges and will be sentenced to prison. Sentenced to 43 years.
Amari Pollard, 20, gave her plea on the fourth day of her trial for the Huguenot High School graduation shooting that left 18-year-old Sean Jackson dead, according to media reports.
Richmond Circuit Judge W. Riley Merchant, who sentenced Pollard, suspended his 18-year sentence, meaning he could be released within 25 years, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported. It is said that there is.
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Mr. Pollard entered arguments after issuing two definitive judgments against Mr. Merchant earlier Thursday. The judge ruled against Mr. Pollard’s motion to reduce the charges and the admission of certain evidence.
Flowers sit in front of the Altria Theater, where a mass shooting occurred after a graduation ceremony, on June 7, 2023 in Richmond, Virginia. Amari Pollard was sentenced to 43 years in prison for shooting and killing a teenage boy. I received my Virginia high school diploma a few minutes ago. (AP Photo/Steve Herber, File)
Jackson and his stepfather, Lorenzo Smith, were shot to death outside the Altria Theater in Richmond, a suburb of Virginia Commonwealth University, at the end of a graduation ceremony. Police said five other people were injured in the shooting, and at least 12 more suffered other injuries or were treated for anxiety caused by the unrest.
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Pollard was also initially charged in Smith’s death, but prosecutors later dropped the charges after a lengthy investigation determined there was insufficient evidence to try him in the shooting.
At the time of the violence, Richmond police said Pollard knew Jackson and the two had been involved in a feud for more than a year. A report prepared by a law firm for Richmond Public Schools and released in January said Jackson had been kept at home for several months due to safety concerns, but still did not attend his graduation ceremony. It was said to have been allowed.
Richmond City Commonwealth’s Attorney Colette McEachin said in a news release after the plea that Pollard’s “insensitive and inconsiderate behavior at a public graduation ceremony in a public place that afternoon was the only reason he was sentenced to 25 years in prison.” This is the reason.” His actions, and his actions alone. ”
