Tyrese Harris, sentenced to 45 years in a federal prison for carjacking a woman at the Costco gas station in New Orleans, has pleaded guilty to state charges of manslaughter and conspiracy to commit second degree murder in the shooting death of a 12-year-old in New Orleans East.
Harris, 20, admitted shooting Derrick Cash repeatedly in early 2022 and leaving him to die on a deserted stretch of Michoud Blvd.
The judge sentenced Harris to the maximum sentence: 40 years in prison for manslaughter, 30 years for conspiracy.
Earlier this year, Harris pleaded guilty to federal charges in the carjacking of Kelleye Rhein. Rhein was getting gas at the Costco off S. Carrollton and I-10 when Harris jumped in her driver's seat and hit the accelerator. Rhein, on the passenger side of the vehicle, was dragged across the parking lot and suffered a fractured skull.
Judge Robin Pittman ordered the sentenced to be served concurrently, and ordered the state sentences to run concurrently with Harris' 45-year federal sentence.
The guilty plea lets Harris avoid a second degree murder trial. A guilty verdict on the murder charge would have meant mandatory life in prison.
Tyree Conerly is accused of being Harris' co-conspirator in the murder of Cash. Conerly awaits trial on charges of second degree murder.
