Teen Shooting Suspects Back in Court

One of the defendants involved in the shooting death of Salina South High School student Allie Saum back in May of 2015 agreed to a plea deal Monday afternoon, while another was in court in an attempt to back out his deal.

Both 18-year-old Andrew Woodring, and 20-year-old Jerome Forbes appeared before Judge Rene Young In Saline County District Court.

Woodring appeared first, 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 would like to plead not guilty, and proceed to a trial. Judge Young said that she would announce a decision on August 10th.

Forbes, the last defendant who was scheduled to go to trial in the case, instead pled to lesser charges. 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.

Judge Young sent a sentencing date for September 9th.

Two other defendants in the case have already been found guilty of murder, and sentenced.

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

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.

A sixth defendant in the case, 22-year-old Azucena Garcia-Ferniza, was sentenced to probation for an obstruction charge. She tried to hide the gun that was used in the shooting.

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.