She entered a plea of true in Butler County Juvenile Court last month to the amended charge of involuntary manslaughter. A true plea is equivalent to a guilty plea in adult court. The remaining charges were dismissed.
On Thursday, Judge Erik Niehaus sentenced the teen to a minimum of 12 months at JDC and she could be held until her 21st birthday depending on her behavior. She was given credit for 107 days served.
In the course of the botched robbery, 18-year-old Kaaree Wade Hipsher-Burton of Cincinnati was shot and found dead during the early morning hours of Oct. 2 in a second-floor hotel hallway, according to police.
Butler County Prosecutor Michael Gmoser said the person who fired the shot that killed Hipsher-Burton was acting in self-defense.
“It was self-defense by the guy trying to protect his property and family with a gun pointed at him,” Gmoser said. “She (the teen girl) let the wolf in the door and she is chargeable for being complicit in a crime that got her conspirator killed.”
Gmoser said the prosecutor’s office did not request the case be sent to adult court due to the teen’s age, lack of criminal history and minimal involvement.
“There is no question that she participated in what happened to this fellow in getting killed by her conduct, but the net result is her actual involvement was considerably less in the planning and execution of the whole thing,” Gmoser said.
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