LOS ANGELES (AP) - A man has been sentenced to 12 years in state prison in connection with the killing of a teenager in South Los Angeles because he wore red sneakers and a red shirt.
Dwight Smith received the sentence Wednesday after pleading guilty in August to voluntary manslaughter in the gang-related death of 19-year-old Tavin Price.
City News Service says Smith testified against two gang members - Kevin Johnson and Kanasho Johns - who were sentenced last month to 50 years to life and 53 years to life, respectively.
Prosecutors say Smith approached Price, who was developmentally disabled, at a car wash last year and asked about his gang affiliation because he was wearing red. Soon afterward, authorities say, Johns shot Price four times.
Price wasn’t a gang member.
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