Temekia Reed speaks to co-council Chrissy Mincy during a preliminary hearing in Judge Bob Moon’s court in this 2012 file photo.A 26-year-old Chattanooga woman whose trial on charges she stabbed a teenage girl with scissors in a street fight ended in a mistrial in March pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter Wednesday.
Temekia Reed went to trial on a charge of first-degree murder in March but Hamilton County Criminal Court Judge Rebecca Stern declared a mistrial when the jury stalled at 10-2 for a guilty verdict after 10 hours of deliberation.
Prosecutors Cameron Williams and David Schmidt had prepared to retry the case next week. But after talking with the family of victim Shaviya Vinson about problems with changing witness testimony and likely difficulties getting key evidence to a new jury, they offered Reed the plea.
“When you’re talking in terms of people serving years in prison, it’s difficult to equate that to losing a loved one,” Williams said. “[The family] understands the resolution. They weren’t happy with it.”
If convicted of first-degree murder, Reed would have faced life in prison, which is a half century before parole consideration.