BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Jeremy King, one of the defendants charged in the shooting of 5-year-old Kason Guyton, has accepted a deal, pleading guilty to the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter.
- On top of pleading guilty to a lesser charge, all other charges were dropped against King.
- King is now facing a sentence of only six years, as opposed to a life term.
Jeremy King, one of the defendants charged in the shooting of 5-year-old Kason Guyton, has accepted a deal, pleading guilty to the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter.
"For a term of six years. Three years, the low term doubled because he has a prior strike," said Attorney Andrew Flier, speaking to the plea offer accepted by his client in the trial for the shooting death of Guyton.
On top of pleading guilty to a lesser charge, all other charges were dropped against King.
When asked if the offer was contingent on King testifying against his co-defendant and cousin Jonathan Knight, Flier would not confirm.
"I don't want to get into specifics about that because the case is still pending, I'll leave that at that," he said.
Family members of both Knight and King attended the hearing, disapproving of the deal. When asked, they declined an interview.
King is now facing a sentence of only six years, as opposed to a life term. Flier said that the deal was accepted on the possibility of receiving a credit time-served sentence.
King and Knight are both accused in the drive-by shooting that killed Guyton on February 23, 2017. Guyton and his 7-year-old brother were in a vehicle driven by their mother's boyfriend, a documented member of the East Side Crips.
It's believed King and Knight were members of the rival gang West Side Crips.
We reached out to prosecutor Eric Smith and the District Attorney's office, who declined to comment.
King will either be sentenced on October 3 or October 10, pending a further hearing.
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