(SRN NEWS/AP/97.5 GLORY FM) – Colt Gray, the alleged Apalachee school shooter, is scheduled to go before a Barrow County judge tomorrow (Friday) for the start of a plea and sentencing hearing with the expectation that he plans to plead guilty.
Four people were killed and several wounded in the 2024 shooting at Apalachee High School. Gray, now 16, had pleaded not guilty to several charges including murder and his trial was scheduled to begin in October.
In a court filing a week ago, the judge overseeing his case set the date for what’s called a “Non-Negotiated Plea and Sentencing Hearing.”
A non-negotiated plea means that the state and the defense have not reached an agreement on a sentence. Unlike a negotiated plea, or plea deal, where a defendant reaches an agreement with prosecutors to plead guilty in exchange for an agreed upon sentence and possibly reduced charges, this leaves sentencing entirely up to the judge who makes a decision after giving each side a chance to present a summary of the case and a sentencing recommendation.
Gray’s father, already found guilty by a Hall County jury in a change-of-venue of providing the gun allegedly used in the shooting, is scheduled to be sentenced later this month.