A Yonkers man who fatally shot a former gang member who wrote books geared to helping young adults avoid street life has pleaded guilty.
Xavier Palmer, 29, pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter June 18 after he was promised a prison term of 25 years.
He was initially charged with second-degree murder following his arrest hours after the Aug. 11 shooting of James Hardy on Cliff Street. Hardy, 41, was hit once in the chest. The Glock 19 Palmer used was found in a garbage can down the block, according to court records.
Hardy’s relatives have said they believed the shooting was a result of a confrontation between the two men because Hardy had been dating Palmer’s ex-girlfriend.
Hardy spent several years in federal prison after pleading guilty to drug charges stemming from his involvement with the Elm Street Wolves in Yonkers. While incarcerated he began writing under the name Young Lite and eventually published four urban novels with the underlying theme that street life invariably leads to prison or death.
Palmer remains held at the county jail to await sentencing, which Westchester Judge George Fufidio scheduled for July 30.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Guilty plea to manslaughter in Yonkers killing of urban novelist
Reporting by Jonathan Bandler, Rockland/Westchester Journal News / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
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By Jonathan Bandler, Rockland/Westchester Journal News | USA TODAY Network
