Plea deal reached in Rapid City fatal shooting

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) - A Rapid City man pleads guilty in a fatal shooting off Highway 16 in November 2020.

Originally charged with second degree murder, 44-year-old Jason Ray Sharp pleaded guilty in Seventh Circuit Court to first degree manslaughter in the shooting death of 19-year-old Ocean Eberlein at a mobile home park near Reptile Gardens.

The factual basis statement in the case says Sharp admits to shooting Eberlein with a .22 caliber rifle after an argument.

Sharp faces up to life in prison when he’s sentenced, but the plea agreement in the case says both sides will ask for no more 20 years behind bars.

That agreement also says Sharp can ask to withdraw the plea if Judge Joshua Hendrickson rejects the agreement and opts for a longer sentence.

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