15-year-old who killed Las Vegas teenager during birthday party takes plea deal

David Charns
·2 min read
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15-year-old who killed Las Vegas teenager during birthday party takes plea deal

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A 15-year-old who shot and killed another teenager at a birthday party took a plea deal Thursday, which would put him in prison for at least eight years.

Sincere Smith shot and killed Omarion Wilson, 17, during the gathering at a hotel on March 25, records said. The hotel is located on Flamingo Road about a block east of the Las Vegas Strip.

In court Thursday, Smith took an Alford plea on a second-degree murder charge, meaning he believed prosecutors had enough evidence to convince a jury to convict him but he did not admit guilt.

Police in California arrested Smith in June. He originally faced a charge of murder with the use of a deadly weapon, records said.

<em>Sincere Smith shot and killed Omarion Wilson, 17, during the gathering at a hotel on March 25, records said. The hotel is located on Flamingo Road about a block east of the Las Vegas Strip. (KLAS)</em>
Sincere Smith shot and killed Omarion Wilson, 17, during the gathering at a hotel on March 25, records said. The hotel is located on Flamingo Road about a block east of the Las Vegas Strip. (KLAS)

Wilson was wrapping up his senior year at Legacy High School in North Las Vegas, his family said, describing him as outgoing and competitive and a well-known football and track athlete.

Detectives reviewed surveillance video from before the shooting, which they said showed Smith and a group of other teenage boys arriving at a parking garage, taking a gun from his waistband and putting it into a backpack, documents said.

Four minutes after the boys reached the floor where the group was holding the party, video showed the same group running away via the stairs, police said.

In Nevada, if a 16-year-old or 17-year-old is charged with murder, the case is automatically moved to the adult system. The process is referred to as certification. Judges can certify children over the age of 14 as adults for any felony offense, including murder, though the process is not automatic.

Judge Tierra Jones scheduled Smith’s sentencing for March 7. As part of the plea deal, she could sentence Smith to 25 years in prison with the possibility of parole after eight years.

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