Crime & Courts

Anchorage teen gets year in jail for shooting death of friend

A 19-year-old from Anchorage was sentenced Wednesday to serve one year of jail time for the shooting death of another teenager he told a packed courtroom was among his best friends.

Deandrew Lee Jennings Walker-Webster II received a sentence of three years with two years suspended on a criminally negligent manslaughter charge stemming from the death of Xeryus "Iggy" Tate, 17. Walker-Webster will likely be released within a day as he's been incarcerated since he turned himself in to police in August, according to Assistant District Attorney Heather Nobrega. Walker-Webster has served the imposed time under the state's guidelines.

"I sincerely apologize to the family. I would never do this on purpose," Walker-Webster said. "Iggy was my boy."

"I don't gangbang," he said, adding that he and his friend had plans to go to college and become productive adults.

Walker-Webster originally faced charges of manslaughter and making a false report to police. His sentence resulted from an agreement between the state and the defense attorney.

Tate's body was found near his 1995 Honda Accord when police responded to reports of a shooting near E. Fourth Avenue and Newell Street around 2 a.m. on July 31, 2016.

Charging documents said Walker-Webster was handling a gun in the back seat of the Accord, behind the driver's seat, when it went off and fatally injured Tate.

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Walker-Webster stayed at the scene, along with another passenger, and spoke to police. He was not immediately arrested. Several days after the shooting, Walker-Webster posted a video to Facebook in which he said the shooting was not deliberate but added he was prepared for the consequences.

Aleaka Tate, the victim's mother, asked the judge to reject the plea agreement. Aleaka prepared a short slideshow for the court including Instagram pictures showing Walker-Webster smoking marijuana. She told the judge drug and alcohol tests needed to be part of the court's probation conditions.

The mother pointed out the acronym HAF on one of the photos, and she asked the judge if he knew its meaning.

"High as f—," she said. "And (Walker-Webster) was high as f— when he murdered my son."

According to statements made during the sentencing hearing, some of the group of teenagers riding in the car on the night of the shooting had smoked marijuana before heading to a party.

Defense attorney KeriAnn Brady described the shooting as an accident that changed the lives of two young men forever. Brady also argued the state correctly resolved the case through the plea agreement.

Brady said Walker-Webster was handed the gun by another passenger in the car, and he was unfamiliar with guns. The firearm discharged when he tried to shove it under the seat; he didn't even pull the trigger, she said.

In handing down the sentence, Wolverton said the law limited what he could impose as a punishment. He lamented the steady stream of gun violence, accidental or intentional, affecting Anchorage.

"It's everywhere. It's endemic and the city is sick of it."

Read more: 

APD: Teen found dead in East Anchorage after report of shots fired

Suspect sought on manslaughter charges in Sunday shooting

Man wanted in Sunday shooting surrenders after a confession video surfaces

Jerzy Shedlock

Jerzy Shedlock is a former reporter for Alaska Dispatch News. He left the ADN in 2017.

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