Lexington teenager pleads guilty in deadly shooting after he’s denied self-defense claim
A Lexington man who shot and killed another man and claimed self-defense afterwards has agreed to plead guilty to amended charges.
Ahtraivaon Jenkins, 18, pleaded guilty Friday to the death of 44-year-old Cornelius Allen. Jenkins, who was 17 at the time of the shooting, was arrested shortly afterwards and charged with murder, possession of a handgun by a minor and tampering with physical evidence, police said.
As part of the guilty plea deal, the murder charge was amended to second-degree manslaughter while the charge for possessing a handgun was unchanged. The tampering with physical evidence charge was dropped by a grand jury, according to jail records.
The Fayette Commonwealth Attorney’s Office recommended a 10 year prison sentence for the manslaughter charge and a one year sentence for the possession of a handgun by a minor charge. The sentences are required by law to run concurrently, Fayette Circuit Judge Kimberly Bunnell said during Friday’s hearing.
Jenkins is scheduled to be sentenced July 28.
Jenkins was arrested after a shooting in the 400 block of Hollow Creek Drive. Allen was suffering from a gunshot wound inside a residence on that block. He was taken to a hospital but later died, police said.
Jenkins tried to claim self-defense, get case tossed
Jenkins’ attorney, Wayne Roberts, filed a motion in January to have the case against his client dismissed, citing Kentucky’s stand your ground law. The law says “the use of physical force by a defendant upon another person is justifiable when the defendant believes that such force is necessary to protect himself against the use or imminent use of unlawful physical force by the other person.”
In his motion to dismiss the case, Roberts alleged that Allen attacked Jenkins, who had shown up to Allen’s apartment to help someone else in the apartment move out. Roberts said Allen had been the aggressor and Allen was much bigger than Jenkins.
But Bunnell disagreed with Roberts and Jenkins’ assertions and denied the motion after hearing testimony, according to court documents.
Bunnell also declined to reduce Jenkins’ bond Friday, leaving it at $50,000.
