Two of the six defendants in the shootout at a south Sacramento area barbershop that killed a young mother protecting her 2-year-old son admitted their guilt today to manslaughter charges.
Charles Barksdale, 31, and Dominique Marcell Lott, 29, entered their guilty pleas in Sacramento Superior Court and will be facing terms of 21 years in state prison, according to Deputy District Attorney Scott Triplett.
Triplett said prosecutors made the offer to Barksdale and Lott "after considering all of the facts, and trying to fashion an appropriate resolution in light of those facts."
Triplett said that Lott, who was armed during the shootout, and Barksdale, who acted as the getaway driver for one of the groups in the gang-related violence, likely would have required separate juries, which would have made it unlikely to try the six defendants in a single trial.
"With this resolution, the victim's family doesn't have to sit through it two times, and the witnesses won't have to go through it two times," Triplett said.
The Dec. 14, 2010, shooting at the Fly Cuts & Styles barbershop killed Monique Nelson, 30, who had thrown her body over her son when the gunshots rang out.
Both Barksdale and Lott agreed to 11-year terms for voluntary manslaughter. Lott received an added 10 years for having the gun during the offense while Barksdale got an additional 10 years on his term for admitting that the shootout took place for the benefit of his street gang.
Judge John P. Winn scheduled their sentencing date for March 28.
A murder trial is still pending for the other four defendants in the case. They are Lonnie Orlando Mitchell Jr., 26, Louis Jame Mitchell, 21, James Leo Carney III, 33, and Larry Dean Jones Jr., 31.
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