Change of Plea Effort Denied

A judge has denied a man’s efforts to withdraw a plea in connection with the 2015 killing of a Salina teen.

Officials tell KSAL News that Judge Rene Young on Wednesday denied a motion from 18-year-old Andrew Woodring to withdraw his no contest plea to felony murder in the death of 17-year-old Allie Saum.

Back on July 25th, Woodring appeared in court on a change of plea motion. He previously had pled no contest to a charge of felony murder. The sentence would require life in prison without the possibility of parole for 25 years.

Woodring told the Judge that he felt “pressured” into the plea agreement, which he agreed to back in April. He said that a deadline set by the Saline County Attorney’s Office, along with a belief that he could not get a fair trial in Salina, prompted him to agree to the plea deal. He filed a hand written motion himself, requesting the plea change. Woodring had wanted to plead not guilty, and proceed to a trial.

Two other men in the case have been found guilty following trials, and two others have reached plea agreements.

23-year-old Maceo Palacio, the man who fired the fatal shot, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 50 years for First Degree Murder conviction . Palacio was also sentenced for other crimes, including:

234 months for Attempted First Degree Murder
59 months for Shooting at an Occupied Vehicle
6 months for Conspiracy to Commit Aggravated Battery

20-year-old Stephen Gentry was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 25 years for a First Degree Murder conviction. Gentry was the instigator in a plot to seek revenge, after being punched in a previous incident. He gathered a group of people together, ultimately misdentified a truck, and instructed Palacio to fire shots at it. Gentry was also sentenced for other crimes including:

253 months for Attempted First Degree Murder
59 months for Shooting at an Occupied Vehicle
6 months for Conspiracy to Commit Aggravated Battery

20-year-old Jerome Forbes pled no contest to three charges. The charges, and potential penalties include:

Involuntary Manslaughter. 31-136 months in prison. A fine of up to $300,000.
Felony Obstruction. 5-17 months in prison. A fine of up to $100,000.
Conspiracy to Commit Aggravated Battery. 5-17 months in prison. A fine of up to $100,000.

A fifth defendant in the case, 20-year-old Daniel Sims, testified against Palacio and Gentry in exchange for a reduction of charges. He is scheduled in August to plead to charges that include involuntary manslaughter and conspiracy to commit aggravated battery.

Allie Saum was shot and killed on May 6th, 2015. Shots were fired at a truck as it drove eastbound in the 500 block of Russell.

The truck was misidentified as being connected to an earlier altercation. Saum was a passenger in the truck, and was hit by one of five shots that were fired.