15-year sentence for voluntary manslaughter

A 33-year old man was ordered today to serve 15 years in prison for the shooting and beating death of a man in Seneca two years ago. Keena Jerome Brown was originally charged with the murder in the death of Ricky Nickles Jr., but the case was resolved by a negotiated plea to the charge of voluntary manslaughter. That plea was agreed to by both the prosecution and the defense, but opposed by members of the Nickles’ family. They pleaded with the judge to reject the plea and schedule a trial so that, as one Nickles family member said, the facts would come out to prove that Brown murdered Nickles. The victim was shot and beaten in front of a Seneca apartment unit occupied by Nickles’ wife and their three children. After hearing from all sides and after reading the police report of what happened, Judge Scott Sprouse said domestic incidents are lethal and this one smacked of “tumultuous relationships, threats, and guns.” Although the defense lawyer wanted less prison time for his client, the 15-year sentence was considered a compromise considering that the maximum sentence for voluntary manslaughter is 30 years. Brown will receive credit time since he was jailed after being arrested in early July 2017. But Solicitor David Wagner says under conditions of the negotiated plea, Brown will not be eligible for parole from the remainder of the sentence.