A Louisiana man accused of taking part in a quadruple shooting that claimed the lives of a 7-year-old girl and her older brother pleaded guilty in the case Tuesday, on what would have been second day of his trial in Jefferson Parish, according to court records.
The jury had been seated and opening statements made before 26-year-old Everette Campbell pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter, obstruction of justice and illegal cultivation of marijuana, according to court records.
Campbell had been indicted with two counts of second-degree murder in the killings of 7-year-old Mekia Smith and 21-year-old Ronald Eddington III. The trial opened Monday before Judge Michel Mentz of the 24th Judicial District Court.
But on Tuesday, Campbell agreed to plea to the lesser charge of manslaughter, court records show. Mentz sentenced Campbell to 35 years in prison. Campbell had been facing a mandatory life sentence in prison had the jury convicted him of murder.
Campbell is accused of accompanying convicted co-conspirator Malik McGinnis during the Marrero shooting spree, which occurred on the night of September 4, 2019.
McGinnis had been friends with Eddington and lived with Eddington’s family at their home in the 3000 block of Sorbonne Drive, according to authorities. McGinnis moved out about a week before the shootings, but there was no indication of any trouble between the two men, relatives said.
On the night of shootings, McGinnis returned to the residence to hang out and brought Campbell with him. However, Eddington shortly escorted them to the door after witnesses described secretive behavior and “bad vibes” coming from the Campbell and McGinnis, according to court records.
Moments later, gunfire erupted inside the residence. Mekia left her bedroom and was fatally shot in the chest after entering the home’s hallway, authorities said.
McGinnis allegedly shot Eddington’s 11-year-old sister in the arm while a 19-year-old man suffered a gunshot wound to his abdomen during a struggle with McGinnis over the gun, authorities said. Both the 11-year-old and the man survived their injuries.
During that scuffle with McGinnis, Eddington’s girlfriend described hearing additional gunshots coming from another part of the house court records said. Ronald Eddington was later found dead of a gunshot wound to the head in the living room, according to authorities.
Residential surveillance video from that night showed two men fleeing the residence in a Kia Soul. Detectives determined that Campbell owned a Kia Soul. Ballistic testing determined that fired cartridges collected from the vehicle and projectiles recovered from Eddington and Mekia’s bodies’ were fired from the same weapon, court records said.
McGinnis was sentenced to life in prison after a jury found him guilty two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder on March 8.
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