A North Carolina man has been sentenced to seven years in prison after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the 2018 shooting death of a college student.
The Winston-Salem Journal reports Jakier Austin entered the guilty plea Thursday morning in Forsyth County Superior Court.
Austin was initially charged with first-degree murder in the death of Najee Ali Baker, a Winston-Salem State University football player. Baker was shot after a party that was held in January 2018 at Wake Forest University.
Assistant District Attorney Belinda Foster said prosecutors were hampered in pursuing a first-degree murder conviction because none of the witnesses would cooperate.