21-Year-Old Detroit Man Pleads Guilty In French Street Artist's Killing
DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - A young man has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of a 23-year-old French street artist during a robbery outside an abandoned Detroit housing project.
Drequone Rich, 21, on Thursday entered the plea in Wayne County Circuit Court in Detroit ahead of his first-degree murder trial, which was scheduled for next week.
The Detroit News reports that an agreement with prosecutors calls for 23 to 40 years in prison.
Sentencing is Sept. 18.
The story made national headlines when 23-year-old Bilal Berreni's body was found July 29, 2013, outside the dilapidated Frederick Douglass Homes — more commonly knows at the Brewster projects. The long vacant housing project has since been demolished.
Berreni, of Paris, had no identification, and it took seven months before police identified him through fingerprints. He died from a gunshot wound to the head. According to family members, the young artist — who painted large pieces in black and white on buildings — occasionally may have lived as a squatter in vacant structures.
Three others were charged in the case. Jasin Curtis, who pleaded guilty back in May to second-degree murder, was sentenced to 25 to 40 years in prison.
A trial for Dionte Travis on charges including first-degree murder is scheduled to begin Tuesday. A separate trial was ordered in juvenile court for the youngest defendant, who was 14 years old at the time of the killing. His name has not been made public due to his age.
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