This past week in a Broward County courtroom, a 19 year-old man was sentenced to four years in state prison for a car crash that killed a friend of his back in 2010.
By way of a motion from the defense, the accused was sentenced as a youthful offender That caps his maximum sentence at six years and ensures that he will not be housed with adult inmates when he goes to prison. He will serve his sentence at a youthful offender ("YO") facility.
Since prosecutors alleged that the lethal car crash occurred during the commission of a felony, the accused was firs charged with first-degree murder. As part of the YO sentencing, he has pleaded no contest to third-degree murder.