Accomplice In Brutal 2011 Murder Of Concord Woman To Be Released After Plea Agreement
MARTINEZ (CBS SF) -- A 20-year-old defendant charged as an accomplice in the brutal 2011 murder of a Concord woman has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and sentenced to time served and was set to be released from prison Tuesday.
Johnathan Harriel, who was 17 at the time of the killing of Benicia native Shelby Barnes, pleaded guilty to residential burglary as part of an agreement with prosecutors and was sentenced to six years in prison, the Contra Costa Times reported.
Barnes was found bludgeoned and her throat slit inside her Concord home in October of 2011.
With credits along with his time served, Harriel was to be released Tuesday.
Two people have already been convicted in Barnes' killing. 25-year-old Donald Waldecker of Richmond pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and received 25 years to life in prison. His 23-year-old girlfriend and accomplice Randi Dees of El Sobrante pleaded no contest to second-degree murder and received 15 years to life in prison.
Prosecutors said Barnes had allowed people to stay in her home before it was foreclosed upon, and that Waldecker murdered her in an ill-conceived plan to gain possession of the home.