DADEVILLE, Ala. (AP) — Five men involved in a fatal shooting at a sweet 16 party in Alabama were sentenced Friday to five years in prison after taking plea deals that were sharply criticized by some of the victims’ families.
Four people were killed and more than 30 were wounded when gunfire erupted at the 2023 birthday party in Dadeville, Alabama. The violence rocked the small city of 3,200 residents located about 60 miles (96.5 kilometers) northeast of Montgomery.
Willie Brown, 22; Wilson Hill, 23; Travis McCollough, 19; Tyreese McCollough, 20; and Sherman Peters, 18, pleaded guilty to reckless murder. They were sentenced to five years in prison and 15 years on probation. A sixth defendant was given youthful offender status and his court records are not public.
Only one defendant, Tyreese McCollough, addressed the court, saying he was “very sorry” for what happened, according to news outlets.
Some family members criticized the plea deal, saying the sentences were not adequate punishment for the gravity of the crime and the young lives that were lost.
Four young people, including two high school seniors, were killed in the shooting that drew national attention: Philstavious “Phil” Dowdell, 18; Shaunkivia Nicole “KeKe” Smith, 17; Marsiah Emmanuel “Siah” Collins, 19; and Corbin Holston, 23.
“What justice would look like, it would be at least 30 years,” Amy Jackson, Smith's cousin, told WSFA.
District Attorney Mike Segrest told the court that the plea deals provided the best outcome, WSFA reported. He said the evidence showed that the defendants exchanged gunfire with Holston but they could not determine who shot first.
The five defendants pleaded guilty to the deaths of Dowdell, Smith and Collins. The charge involving Holston was dropped.
FILE - Candles with the names of the four young people killed in a shooting sit outside the Mahogany Masterpiece dance studio on April 19, 2023, in Dadeville, Ala. (AP Photo/Kimberly Chandler, File)
The Connecticut Sun have reached an agreement to sell the team to Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta for $300 million and will move to Houston in 2027, according to a person familiar with the deal.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press on Friday because the deal hasn’t been announced publicly.
The WNBA Board of Governors still needs to approve the sale and the move. The team will play in Connecticut for the upcoming season before moving to Houston and becoming the Comets.
This will end a 23-year run by the team in New England after the team moved to Connecticut from Orlando in 2003.
Houston was one of the groups that expressed interest in buying the team last year, eventually raising its bid to $250 million — the amount that Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia paid for expansion fees.
The Sun had an offer for $325 million from a group led by Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca that would have moved the franchise to Boston. The WNBA basically blocked that deal from happening by saying that “relocation decisions are made by the WNBA Board of Governors and not by individual teams.”
The league also went on to say that other teams had gone through the expansion process and had priority over Boston.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said during a news conference to announce the three new expansion teams that Houston was up next.
With the news of the deal on Friday, it allows the franchise to have clarity for potential free agents who could sign with the Sun next month.
The Houston Comets were one of the original franchises in the league that won the first four WNBA championships from 1997-2000. The franchise disbanded after the 2008 season.
The last WNBA team to move cities was the Las Vegas Aces, who relocated from San Antonio in 2017.
AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball
FILE - The WNBA logo is seen near a hoop before an WNBA basketball game at Mohegan Sun Arena, May 14, 2019, in Uncasville, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill, File)
