CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) - A new sentencing hearing has been set for a man who police say failed to warn authorities about his friend’s plans to kill black worshippers at a Charleston church.
Court records show 22-year-old Joey Meek is due in court March 21. Meek has pleaded guilty to failing to report Dylann Roof’s plans and lying to federal authorities.
Prosecutors sought a stiff sentence for Meek. They argued his failure to tell authorities about Roof’s plans to start a race war by killing black churchgoers prevented police from possibly thwarting the massacre.
But a judge on Monday ruled Meek can only be sentenced for what he did after the June 2015 slayings of nine parishioners at Emanuel AME, not before. Federal guidelines allow for a sentence of from 27 to 33 months.
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