MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Varnell Allen has been sentenced to 25 and a half years in prison after earlier pleading guilty to fatally shooting a man who was walking with his girlfriend in downtown Minneapolis.
According to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, Varnell Allen entered a straight plea to the sole count of second-degree intentional murder Tuesday morning.
Herrera Garcia, 21, was walking along Hennepin Avenue at 8th Street with his girlfriend just before 10:30 p.m. when a vehicle, driven by Allen, pulled up and yelled something at them. Garcia reportedly yelled something back.
Allen then stopped the vehicle and got out, along with his passenger. The two started fighting with Herrera Garcia, pistol whipping him. After the physical altercation, Garcia was shot in the chest.
Officers apprehended Allen a short time later in south Minneapolis. Allen admitted to attorneys that he did not know the victim before he intentionally shot and killed him.
At the sentencing Tuesday, the prosecution asked for a sentence five years beyond the 25 and a half years he was ultimately sentenced to, while defense attorneys sought a sentence of just under 22 years in prison. The defense argued that he came from an abusive home, doesn’t have a criminal history, and is on medication to address post-traumatic stress disorder.
Source: CBS Minnesota
Be First to Comment