SALINA -The youngest of five men accused in the shooting death of a Salina teenager pleaded no contest to felony murder on Monday.
Andrew Woodring, 18, was among a group of five men seeking revenge for a fight when 17-year-old Allie Saum was fatally shot on May 6, 2015, in what prosecutors allege is a case of mistaken identity.
Woodring was 17 at the time of the shooting.
In August, Saline County District Court Judge Rene Young ruled that Woodring would stand trial as an adult in the case.
Woodring faces a life sentence with a minimum of 25 years served. His sentencing has been set for 9 a.m. July 8.
Under the plea agreement, charges against Woodring of attempted first-degree murder of Vince Johnson Jr., criminal discharge of a firearm and conspiracy to commit aggravated battery were dismissed.
Another of the five men, 19-year-old Stephen Gentry was found guilty on Friday for his involvement in Saum’s death.
He was convicted on all counts, including the first-degree murder of Saum, attempted first-degree murder of Johnson, criminal discharge of a firearm, and conspiracy to commit aggravated battery. Gentry is also due to be sentenced at 9 a.m. July 8.
According to testimony at his trial, Gentry was among the group of young men that were seeking revenge on two men for the earlier fight.
One of the men had allegedly punched Gentry in the face. The pickup Saum and Johnson were riding in was mistaken for the truck in which the two men were riding.
23-year-old Macio Palacio Jr. is accused of firing five shots at the vehicle as it passed through the 500 block of Russell, one of which fatally struck Saum in the back of the head.
Palacio Jr. is set for trial on May 9.
Jerome D. Forbes, 19, is scheduled for trial August 17.
Daniel A. Sims, 20, will be entering a plea agreement. He is scheduled for a court hearing June 17.
Garcia-Ferniza, 22, was convicted on March 30 of interference with a law enforcement officer for her role in the crime.
According to testimony in her trial, Garcia-Ferniza removed Palacio’s gun out of the box where he kept it and hid it in a bathroom cabinet.
She then put it in her pajama pants just before leaving her parents mobile home when police arrived to search the premises in the early morning hours of May 7, 2015.
Palacio was arrested from the home earlier that morning.
Police recovered a .45-caliber Glock 30 handgun from Garcia-Ferniza, which had one bullet in the chamber and four more in the gun’s magazine.
Garcia-Ferniza is scheduled for sentencing on May 31. She faces a prison sentence ranging from 7 to 23 months.