CLEVELAND, Ohio — A Cleveland woman has pleaded guilty in connection with a fatal shooting at a city park last June.
On Monday, 24-year-old Lavia Paul pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and discharging a firearm in a prohibited area in the death of Kiara Jackson at Cleveland Metroparks’ Mill Creek Falls.
Paul had initially faced murder charges stemming from the June 11 incident, but she reached a deal with prosecutors. Under the agreement, prosecutors will ask Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Judge William Vodrey to sentence her to 15 to 25 years in prison, according to court records.
Prosecutors said Paul and Jackson were part of a group that attended a picnic, went to a bar, and later ended up at the park between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m.
Authorities have not determined what led to the shooting, which left Jackson, a 25-year-old mother of two, dead.
An attorney representing Paul did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Records show the court set Paul’s bond at $500,000, and she has remained in custody at the Cuyahoga County Corrections Center since her arrest on June 11.
The court has scheduled Paul’s sentencing for May 7 at 9 a.m.
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