BATON ROUGE — A Baton Rouge man was sentenced to jail time after he pleaded guilty to manslaughter in a drive-by shooting that left an eighth grader dead. 

Eric Taylor, 14, was fatally shot along Plank Road on Nov. 13, 2024.

Shortly after the shooting, police arrested Yusef Wesley on charges of first-degree murder and assault by drive-by shooting. His charge was downgraded to second-degree murder and he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter. 

Wesley was sentenced on Monday to 45 years in prison, with 30 of those years suspended.

In the days following the shooting, police also arrested Dylan Fox on charges of drive-by shooting, first-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder and illegal use of weapons, as well as Asia Jones for principal to first-degree murder. 

Evidence indicated that Wesley fired one shot, while a co-defendant in the backseat fired four, sources told the WBRZ Investigative Unit.

The other co-defendants are set to be sentenced on Wednesday and Thursday.