He shot and killed his friend, 17-year-old Xeryus “Iggy” Tate, last August, but, Deandrew Walker-Webster II will not spend any more time in prison.
The 18-yr-old reached a plea deal that gave him a three-year sentence late Thursday afternoon. However, Superior Court Judge Michael Wolverton suspended two years and credited Walker-Webster for time served.
That’s the law when it comes to criminally negligent homicide or accidental death– the charge in this case.
Walker-Webster claimed he accidentally fired the gun while Tate drove them and two others around town. He originally claimed two white men committed the crime. He later apologized and confessed in a Facebook video before he surrendered to Anchorage police.
“I just wish this day never happened, I just wish none of this happened, and I understand why you’re mad because he was your son and he’s gone and I can’t do nothing about it, but, I’m sorry– I truly am,” Walker-Webster told Tate’s family before sentencing.
“I actually felt a little bit better when the young man was giving me his apologies and his condolences,” an emotional Aleaka Tate said after the hearing. “It made it a little bit easier, but I still think it’s not worth it. I really don’t think that’s fair, one year. He’s released today and my son is dead and gone.”
The suspended sentence could be reinstated if Walker-Webster is arrested while he serves five years probation.
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