Man sentenced for 2022 killing of Ben Davis High School student

INDIANAPOLIS — A man charged in the 2022 killing of a 16-year-old Ben Davis High School student was sentenced on Friday to more than two decades in prison, according to court records.  

Marion Superior Judge Jennifer Harrison ordered Jayden Jennings to 25 years in the Indiana Department of Correction as part of a plea between the 20-year-old and prosecutors. As part of the agreement, filed April 25, Jennings pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, a lesser charge, in exchange for the state to dismiss his murder and robbery charges.  

The charges stem from the April 10, 2022 shooting death of Michael Duerson III – who went by MJ. Police found the teen with gunshot wounds in the 5600 block of East 38^th Street, on the east side of Indianapolis. 

More: ‘MJ did not deserve this’: Family mourns teen lost to gun violence, calls for answers

Indianapolis police arrested Jennings and Keith Miller, then 19, in the shooting. Police believe the shooting involved the sale of a gun.  

Miller is scheduled to be sentenced May 16.  

Contact reporter Sarah Nelson at sarah.nelson@indystar.com