3 Men Plead Guilty In Killing Of 12-Year-Old Girl At Graduation Party

Three men pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges associated with the shooting death of a 12-year-old girl in New Orleans, Louisiana, earlier this year.

Pernell Young Jr., 19, Tyrese Riley, 19, and Marcus Venible, 18, admitted to playing roles in the fatal shooting of Todriana Peters outside a New Orleans graduation party on May 30, The Times-Picayune reported.

Young admitted to firing a gun and pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter. The two other defendants who pleaded guilty were not shooters, a prosecutor said in court.

On May 30, Young, Riley and Venible were in a pair of cars heading from St. Bernard Parish to a graduation party in Delery Street when someone opened fire on Young's car, according to Assistant District Attorney Alex Calenda. His vehicle was struck "multiple times," Calenda said.

When they arrived at the party, the three saw a car that they believed had been used in the earlier shooting. Seven men from Young's group then opened fire at the vehicle, Calenda added.

Peters and two men were wounded in the attack. The girl was transported to a hospital, where she died from her wounds. The other two teenage victims survived, according to People.

The 12-year-old girl just stopped by the party with a relative before heading to her grandmother's house. Peters had been sitting in the car to charge her cellphone.

Young pleaded guilty to manslaughter, conspiracy to commit second-degree murder, illegal discharge of a weapon during a crime of violence and obstruction of justice. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the obstruction of justice count only, with sentencing held open on the other counts.

Young faces a 40-year maximum prison term for manslaughter.

Venible and Riley were each handed eight-year prisons sentences for conspiring to commit second-degree murder and conspiring to commit the illegal discharge of a weapon during a crime of violence. The two also each received an additional five years in prison on accessory after the fact to second-degree murder.

A total of 10 men were indicted by a grand jury in August for the May shooting. The plea of the seven other defendants is yet to be known.

Peters would have turned 13 on Sept. 20 had she still been alive, according to the Associated Press.

New Orleans saw the number of people killed rise in 2020, after the previous year marked the lowest number of homicides in nearly half a century, according to the New Orleans City Council website. This year, homicides in the city are up about 16% over the same time last year.