Man sentenced to 25 years in prison for shooting and killing McLain High School student at 2022 Homecoming game

A Tulsa County judge sentenced an 18-year-old to 25 years in prison for shooting and killing a McLain High School student at the 2022 homecoming football game.

Ni'Avien Golden pleaded guilty in September to first-degree manslaughter for the shooting death of 17-year-old Terron Yarbrough and the shooting and wounding of three other people.

During sentencing Tuesday afternoon, Golden asked the judge for leniency. Golden said he made a mistake that he would like to make up for and asked the judge to send him to prison for 10 years.

But the judge had some harsh words for him, saying this was far more than a mistake. He says Golden decided to bring a gun to a football game. He said it was about young men behaving childishly.

According to prosecutors, Golden and several other teenagers got into a fight at the end of the soccer game and Golden pulled out a gun and fired several shots into the crowd, hitting four people. They say Golden didn't go to McLain, but he brought a gun to the game, he started the fight and he was the only one who pulled a gun.

Golden's attorney has argued that Golden was attacked by a group of people and acted in self-defense. He says Golden isn't a bad boy, was never in trouble and turned himself in after the shooting. He called Golden an idiot that night for making an incredibly stupid decision.

The victim's grandmother says her grandson was a great young man and she hopes this sentence sends a message to all the little kids out there who solve their problems with guns.

“For 25 years I thought that he had to live a life that was not helping him, and this way he will find a way out and show that he will be a man and take responsibility for everything you do,” said he Deborah Yarbrough, the victim's grandmother.

Prosecutors say Golden made terrible decisions that led to the death of a young man and things could have been worse.

“The claim that this was just a mistake and that we regret it really misrepresents what happened here. I think the judges' harsh words, as you said, really captured what really happened. “There were about a million different ways to de-escalate the matter, rather than all of the defendant's conscious decisions to escalate the matter,” said First Assistant District Attorney Erik Grayless.

News On 6 reached out to Golden's attorney for comment, but he declined.

The judge sentenced Golden to 25 years in prison for each person he shot, but those sentences will be counted together.

This is a developing story. Refresh this page for updates.

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6. Tulsa Co. District Attorney files motion to try McLain High School shooting suspect as an adult