Teens who allegedly killed musician in cold blood during robbery will be charged as adults

Five teens between the age of 12 and 16 have been arrested and charged with criminal homicide after shooting Nashville musician Kyle Yorlets outside of his home on Thursday.

According to the Nashville Police Department, the suspects —three boys, and two girls— were in a stolen Chevrolet Colorado pickup truck in an alley behind Yorlets’s home when they spotted him. They asked for his wallet, and he complied, but when the kids asked for his car’s keys, Kyle refused and was fatally shot.

The 24-year-old was able to get back inside his home, where his roommate found him. Yorlets was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

A few hours later, the Juvenile Crime Task Force, Youth Services detectives, and North Precinct detectives worked together to find and arrest the teens at a Walmart in West Nashville, according to a police press release.

Police identified three of the five suspects as Roniyah McKnight, 14, Diamond Lewis, 15, and Decorrius Wright, 16, o. Also charged are a 12-year-old girl and a 13-year-old boy, who according to Tennessee’s law, can be publicly identified.

They had a loaded nine-millimeter pistol, which had been reported stolen. And a second loaded gun, also stolen, was recovered from inside the store. Two vehicles they used to travel were also recovered, the pick-up truck, and a Hyundai Santa Fe stolen in Brentwood.

According to the Tennessean, prosecutors want to try all five of them as adults. However, the lawyer for the 12-year-old stated her client's case doesn’t belong in the adult court because she cooperated with the police following the arrest.

Assistant District Attorney Stacy Miller disagreed, stating in a hearing in juvenile court that the girl didn’t run from the scene or call the police to report the murder. “She’s as guilty as they are,” he said.

Police haven’t identified Yorlet’s shooter yet, but they confirmed all suspects know each other and are not strangers to the system or the police department.

Police spokesman Don Aaron revealed that the department’s involvement in the case started early Thursday as the searched for the 12-year-old girl, who had run away from home. The investigation led them to find some Snapchats that showed the girl with other teens in a car and guns.

After Yorlets’ shooting, witnesses told officers they saw several young people run to a pickup truck.

“As we began looking at the descriptions provided by witnesses on Torbett Street it became clear that the persons with the 12-year-old were likely the same ones in the pickup truck," Aaron said.

Is not clear yet how the police were able to track the teens from Yorlets’ home to the Walmart where they were arrested.

Kyle Yorlets was born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, graduated from Belmont University and was a member of the Nashville-based band Carverton.

The band posted a tribute to him on its Facebook page on Friday that read:

“On February 7, 2019, we lost our brother, best friend, and bandmate Kyle Yorlets. We are in a state of shock and are having to grasp the reality that is now in front of us. We are heartbroken. Our condolences for his family and loved ones and all the lives that he touched. We will never forget Kyle, and though he is gone too soon, his legacy is here to stay.”

On another instance of kids handling weapons, tragedy struck Maricopa last October when a young boy shot and killed his grandmother for not wanting to clean his room before he turned the gun on himself.

Doyle Herbert and his wife Yvonne Woodard from Litchfield Park, Phoenix, Arizona, had asked their grandson numerous times to clean his room, but the boy was being stubborn and refused.

The 11-year-old boy then decided to put an end to everything around 5 pm, when he approached his grandparents from behind while they were watching television and shot Woodard in the back of the head. SHocked, Doyle tried to run after his grandson, but then returned to his wife's side to dial 911.

While on the phone, he heard the second gunshot and saw his grandson take a few steps before he fell to the ground.

According to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, the gun belonged to Herbert, and there has been no indication that the boy would hurt anyone or himself.