In the fall of 2015, a fatal encounter in Warner Robins, Georgia, cut short the life of 16-year-old Ryan Skeen. On October 26th, Skeen was shot in the neck in the 200 block of Franklin Square. He was rushed to a local hospital and placed on life support, but tragically, he was taken off life support the following morning. The incident was not a random act of violence; police quickly identified a suspect and pointed to a robbery involving drugs as the motive.
The investigation led to the
arrest of a 13-year-old, Kaden Chase Barefoot. Despite his young age, the decision was made to charge him as an adult. A Houston County grand jury indicted Barefoot on eight counts, including felony and malice murder, criminal attempt to commit armed robbery, and theft by receiving a stolen firearm. The indictment alleged that Barefoot had attempted to steal marijuana from Skeen using a stolen 9mm handgun and was also in possession of hydrocodone at the time of the shooting. In February 2016, Barefoot pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The legal proceedings moved forward, and a trial was scheduled for October 2016. However, on the day jury selection was set to begin, the trial was unexpectedly delayed due to issues raised by the defense concerning the jury selection process. The case took another turn in November 2016 when, as a new jury selection was about to get underway, Kaden Barefoot, then 14, opted to change his plea. He pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and criminal attempt to commit armed robbery.
Before the sentencing, Barefoot addressed the court and Skeen's family, expressing remorse for his 'bad decision' and hoping for their forgiveness. Skeen's family also had the opportunity to speak, sharing their ongoing grief over the loss of their son and brother. The District Attorney explained that a plea deal had not been seriously considered until the defense filed motions suggesting Skeen had been seeking a gun out of fear of being robbed while selling drugs. This, combined with the defendant's young age, led to the acceptance of the plea agreement. Ultimately, Kaden Barefoot was sentenced to 20 years for voluntary manslaughter and a concurrent 30 years for the attempted armed robbery, with the final 10 years of the latter sentence to be served on probation.
