DOTHAN, Ala. (WDNews) — A Dothan man charged with murder in a 2010 cold case pleaded guilty Thursday afternoon to reckless manslaughter after jurors were unable to reach a verdict.
Shonqueze Franklin had been on trial for the shooting death of 69-year-old Grace Bridges, a used furniture dealer who was killed inside her South Park store during what investigators described as a robbery that turned violent. Bridges was found shot to death in her shop in 2010, and the case remained unsolved for years.
Franklin originally faced a murder charge and the possibility of life in prison. But after hours of deliberation, the jury reported it could not agree on a verdict. The deadlock led to a plea agreement that avoided the cost of a retrial, where prosecutors said there was no reasonable expectation of a different outcome.
Under the split-sentence deal, Franklin will serve three years in prison.
