None — Jacksonville, Fla.-- The teenager who shot his friend will spend 15 years in jail.
There were strong statements from 16-year-old Alex ross, who was shot by a friend. The teenager accused of pulling the trigger, Kenneth Stephens, made a plea deal with prosecutors. He will plead guilty in exchange for a 15 year sentence.
Alex Ross went to court Thursday and looked right at the kid who shot him and said he lives in fear and looks over his shoulder all the time. He also says that no punishment will ever make what happened to him ok.
Ross' life changed January 6th. Stephens made a frantic 911 call. At that time police didn't know Stephens shot Ross. Weeks later, Ross told this to police. "I looked up to see it was Kenny and he was holding a gun. I turned around to walk back, not thinking anything of is 'cuz I thought we were friends, then I turned around and he was still there. I turned around and he was pointing it at me in the head area," said Ross to police.
Ross says in his online blog it was a rough day in court. From his wheelchair he told Stephens quote "No friend of mine would point a loaded gun at my head and pull the trigger. You may be stuck in a jail cell for a portion of time, but I may be stuck in this chair for the rest of my life."
The 16 year old had dreams of playing baseball in college, ut now he's had to re-learn how to do everything. That's something his dad says has been hard, but he's been getting support, even from football player Tim Tebow. "On his biggest day of life takes time for Alex," said Ross' father.
His family is just happy to have their son. Ross hopes hopes one day he has the strength to forgive his friend.
Stephens was originally charged with attempted murder, which carries up to a life sentence. He pleaded to a lesser charge of aggravated battery. Ross' mom said on the blog, she's glad they made a deal because Alex was dreading have to go through a trial. Court documents show Ross admitted he helped steal the gun his friend shot him with.
WJAX
