ST. LOUIS (AP) - A St. Louis teenager has been ordered to enter a juvenile detention program for his role in the death of a retired St. Louis police sergeant.
Sixteen-year-old Justin Mathews also on Thursday was given a suspended 20-year prison term for taking part in the 2018 robbery and shooting of Sgt. Ralph Harper, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
Under the sentence, Mathews could be released on probation at age 21 if he successfully completes a program which includes counseling and vocational training. If he fails, he could go to prison for 20 years.
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Mathews pleaded guilty in October to second-degree murder, robbery and other crimes. He was 15 at the time of the crime.
A second teenager charged in the crime, Jalynn Garner, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder but is seeking to withdraw that plea. Garner is 17 now but was 16 when the crime occurred.
Mathews said he provided Garner with a gun and waited in a stolen SUV as Garner tried to rob Harper, a 33-year police veteran who retired in 2007.
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