By Jon King / jking@whmi.com


A plea deal was finally reached in the case of a Fenton Township teen charged with fatally shooting his best friend.

19-year old Abdurrahman Ahmed Akl had been charged with second degree murder in the 2017 shooting death of 18-year-old Brady Morris. His trial has been adjourned more than half a dozen times, before a criminal plea hearing was finally set Thursday in Genesee County Circuit Court. Court records show that he entered a guilty plea to an amended charge of manslaughter and to a felony firearm count. When he is sentenced September 4th, he faces a maximum of 15 years in prison. However, because he’s spent nearly three and a half years in custody, that time will be reduced from his overall sentence. Had he been convicted on the original charge, he could have earned a life prison term.

Police arrested Akl on March 4th, 2017 after responding to a 9-1-1 report of a male with a gunshot to the head. Authorities say evidence indicates that Akl and Morris, who were friends, were alone on the first floor of the residence when the shooting occurred. An autopsy indicated Morris was shot from behind at point blank range. During a 911 call of the incident, Akl can be heard screaming, telling the dispatcher he pointed a gun at his friend and killed him.

In court on Thursday, he admitted to smoking marijuana that night and said he and Morris were playing with the gun when it went off. He admitted that he had failed to check the gun to see if it was loaded before pulling the trigger.