It's up to the parole board. But my hope is that he'll be home for Christmas.
A Chattanooga man who faced 15-25 years in prison for attempted first-degree murder pleaded guilty this week to lesser charges in Hamilton County Criminal Court.
Galen Allen, 29, will serve 30 percent of a six-year sentence in the Tennessee Department of Correction before he's eligible for parole on charges of aggravated assault and aggravated robbery. And because Allen has been incarcerated since December 2013, he already is eligible, his attorney, Jason Fisher, said after the Thursday plea.
"It's up to the parole board," Fisher said. "But my hope is that he'll be home for Christmas."
Authorities say Allen and Calvin Ward, 17, arranged a meeting in the Bi-Lo parking lot on Highway 58 in December 2013. They had agreed to sell Jaden Archer four Microsoft tablets for $1,000, records show. But when Archer arrived, they tried to rob him instead.
"Jaden Archer is a licensed handgun carrier," prosecutor Lance Pope said. "And he shot and killed [Ward] during the court of the attempted aggravated robbery."
When Archer noticed Allen had a revolver, he fired again, Pope said. The bullet shattered the window of Allen's car, striking him in the process. Archer was never charged, records show.
Later that night, records show, Allen arrived at Erlanger hospital with a gunshot wound. He was charged with attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated robbery and tampering with evidence, a charge the state dismissed, Fisher said.
Ward was found dead with a gunshot wound to the back in a car parked in the grocery store lot on Highway 58.
Although the grand jury originally indicted Allen on attempted first-degree murder - a Class-A felony that carries a 15-25-year term - the state agreed to drop the charge because the evidence wasn't there.
"The proof does not show that Mr. Allen nor Mr. Ward fired," Pope said. "Only that they attempted to rob Mr. Archer, which makes it an aggravated assault."
His other charges all carried three to six years, Fisher said.
Allen was scheduled to go to trial Aug. 16. Though a jury could have acquitted him of the charges, the plea agreement was a more guaranteed outcome for him, Fisher said.
For example, Fisher said, if jurors found him guilty of the murder charge, Allen would have had to serve 85 percent of a 15-year sentence before he was eligible for parole.
"So [in that scenario], you're looking at 12-13 years versus being home for Christmas," Fisher said.
Contact staff writer Zack Peterson at 423-757-6347 or zpeterson@timesfreepress.com. Follow on Twitter @zackpeterson918.