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Kenyonte Galmore, 27, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and received an 18 to 20-year-prison sentence on Friday, Jan. 27.
Kentavious Coleman, 25, also pleaded to manslaughter charges, and a judge sentenced him to seven years in prison, the prosecutor said.
The men were charged with murder, unarmed robbery, kidnapping, and conspiracy.
Prosecutors allege the men tied up and killed 19-year-old Reina Rodriguez of Lawrence at a Hyatt Hotel on June 22, 2017. The men, who allegedly worked with Rodriguez's pimp, were accused of luring her to the room to rob her.
Investigators said Juana Rivera, 24, enticed Rodriguez to become a prostitute with the promise of a lot of money. The homeless teen joined her in schemes to bring men to hotel rooms where they would rob them, according to the prosecutor. They ran ads on Backpage.com to find their victims, authorities allege.
Rivera is accused of setting Rivera up the night she died.
The prosecutor called the plea deals a win.
“We agreed to allow these men to plead to the charge of manslaughter based on factors including the strength and state of the available evidence,” District Attorney Morrissey said in a news release. “If Galmore had been convicted of second-degree murder, he would have been parole-eligible after 15 years. In this structured plea, he will serve a minimum of 18 years. Securing homicide convictions via plea eclipses any chance of either man them avoiding culpability through acquittal. It also precludes the case being turned on appeal – and gives some finality to the family.”
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