A jury has fixed a 15-year sentence for a 21-year-old Indiana man who shot and killed a Radcliff man.
Jurors returned a verdict of guilty of first-degree manslaughter late Wednesday afternoon against Demonte Tee Whitfield and heard sentencing testimony Thursday morning.
Whitfield killed 30 year-old Jermaine Huffman in November 2021 during an altercation.
The jury set a 12-year sentence on the manslaughter charge, which carries a potential penalty of 10 to 20 years. They also set a three-year sentence on a charge of tampering with physical evidence stemming from interference with the gun used in the shooting, which investigators never found.
Jurors recommended the sentences run consecutively, for a total sentence of 15 years. If their recommendation is followed, Whitfield will have to serve at least 12 years and nine months, 85% of his sentence, before becoming eligible for parole.
Whitfield conceded to shooting and killing 30-year-old Jermaine Huffman of Radcliff, leaving whether the killing was justified for the jury to decide Wednesday in its deliberations.
The closing arguments in the case told a tale of two stories, with the defense painting the shooting as an act of self-defense and defense of Whitfield’s brother, and the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office asserting it was intentional or wanton murder.
Prosecutors sought a murder conviction, but jurors found Whitfield guilty on the lesser manslaughter charge.
According to Kentucky law, a conviction of first-degree manslaughter is appropriate when the jury believes the defendant intended to kill the victim but did so under extreme emotional disturbance.
Source: NE
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