MILWAUKEE — The man who fired the bullet that killed 13-year-old Sandra Parks put an end to his own trial.
Isaac Barnes changed his pleas to guilty Tuesday morning, just one day after his trial started. Barnes surprised just about everyone inside the courtroom when he interrupted a witness and judge to call off the trial.
While a witness was just beginning to testify, a sudden outburst came from the defendant himself.
"I don't want to go no farther with my trial because honestly, truthfully, I don't want (witness' name) to go through what she going through on the stand," Barnes said.
Barnes fought back tears as he changed all of his pleas to guilty. Barnes admitted to firing the bullet that struck Sandra while she was watching TV inside her home last fall.
"I'm happy," said Sandra's mother Bernice Parks.
A feeling of relief is setting in for Parks as her family no longer has to go through a grueling trial. She and her family can now begin to heal.
"(It's) still going to be hell because I miss my baby, but I know she didn't die for nothing," said Parks. "My baby going to be OK."
With just one step remaining until justice is served in this devastating crime, Parks hopes Barnes' sentencing comes with a harsh punishment.
"I want life," Parks said. "You took my baby's, you took all her precious moments. Graduation, prom, dating, oh my god, you took everything, but we still succeeding. We still going ahead."
The state agreed to a plea deal with Barnes which dropped a charge of intimidating a witness. He still faces a maximum penalty of 85 years in prison for convictions of first degree reckless homicide, endangering safety and felon in possession of a firearm.
Barnes will be sentenced on August 23.
BREAKING: Isaac Barnes pleads GUILTY to firing the stray bullet that killed 13YO Sandra Parks @tmj4 pic.twitter.com/dNMzBEaUW1
— Ben Jordan (@BenJordan3) June 11, 2019
