Five minors charged with murder of Nashville musician

[February 11, 2019]    By Jackie Botts

(Reuters) - Five minors charged with murder of Nashville musicianive juveniles are charged with shooting and killing a musician in Nashville, Tennessee outside his home after he refused to hand over his car keys, authorities said.
 

The three boys and two girls, ranging in age from 12 to 16, were in a stolen pickup truck when they encountered Kyle Yorlets, 24, outside his home on Thursday and took his wallet, the Metropolitan Nashville Police said.

Yorlets was a graduate of Nashville's Belmont University and was a singer and songwriter for rock band Carverton.

"We are heartbroken," three of his bandmates said in a statement. "We will never forget Kyle, and though he is gone too soon his legacy is here to stay."

Officers arrested the five suspects late on Thursday at a Walmart and recovered the stolen pickup truck, a second stolen car and two pistols, Nashville police said in a statement on Friday.

Authorities named three of the suspects aged 14, 15, and 16, while the identities of the other two suspects - a 12-year-old girl and a 13-year-old boy - were withheld due to their age.

Local media reported Friday that prosecutors plan to charge the minors as adults. Prosecutors declined to comment to Reuters.

Attorneys for the minors could not immediately be identified.

(Reporting by Jackie Botts in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

[© 2019 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2019 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.