Eleven people were wounded when gunshots rang out at a frat party just off Southern University's campus during homecoming festivities last year.
One of the three men charged in the melee appeared in court Wednesday and pleaded guilty for his role in the shooting. District Judge Brad Myers sentenced Eric Miles Moss to 30 months in prison after he copped to a felony count of accessory after the fact to attempted first-degree murder.
It was a reduced charge for Moss, who faced 11 indictments of attempted murder along with a single count of handling machine guns. Prosecutors agreed to dismiss those charges as part of the plea deal, and Myers agreed to the 2½-year sentence in exchange for Moss' admission of guilt, the judge said.
Moss, 25, was credited for the year he has already spent behind bars awaiting trial. His two co-defendants — 25-year-old Jaicedric Albert Issac Williams and Daryl Eric Stansberry, 28 — both face the same indictments. Williams, the alleged triggerman, also faces charges of illegal use of a gun during a crime of violence and possession of a stolen firearm. The men's respective trials are currently scheduled to begin Feb. 26, court records indicate.
Prosecutors said the Oct. 21, 2022, shooting stemmed from a fight that broke out in the midst of a jam-packed homecoming party inside the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity house on Harding Boulevard. According to authorities, as many as 1,000 people were in attendance when gunshots interrupted the frat's annual luau, sending scores of partygoers running for cover.
Prosecutors said Moss arrived to the party with Williams and Stansberry and left with at least one of the alleged culprits following the shooting. Baton Rouge Police Department investigators said the fight broke out shortly before 2 a.m. as Kappa members danced through the party and bumped into the defendants' entourage. Williams pulled out a gun and began firing into the crowd during the ruckus, according to detectives.