Man Pleads Guilty In Slaying Of Auburn Football Player

OPELIKA, Ala. (AP) – A man has pleaded guilty to a reduced charge in the shooting death of Auburn University football player Jakell Mitchell.

Markale Hart pleaded guilty to manslaughter during a hearing in Opelika on Friday.

Hart was charged with murder in the December 2014 gunshot killing of Mitchell, a freshman. He was shot to during a party at apartments in Auburn.

Jurors couldn’t reach a verdict in Hart’s trial in December after he claimed self-defense. A retrial was scheduled later this month.

Hart will get credit for more than three years he spent in jail awaiting trial. He won’t serve additional time unless he gets in trouble while serving three years on probation.

Hart can reverse his plea if a judge in Tallapoosa County doesn’t dismiss unrelated weapons and DUI charges.

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