A New Orleans judge sentenced a Lower Ninth Ward teenager to 20 years in prison Monday after he pleaded guilty to a reduced charge tied to the killing of a woman during what police described as a drug deal gone awry.
Kent Brown Jr. was 16 on the afternoon of Christmas Eve in 2023 when he was in a vehicle with an unidentified gunman who shot 33-year-old Myeisha Marshall in the 100 block of Exchange Place on the outskirts of the French Quarter. Marshall was shot in the neck and later died at University Medical Center.
Charged as an adult, Brown was scheduled for trial this week on a second-degree murder charge. He evaded the prospect of a life sentence on July 17, when he pleaded guilty instead to manslaughter. Prosecutors agreed to 20 years in prison for Brown. District Judge Kimya Holmes imposed the negotiated sentence Monday, court minutes show…