Lake Ridge Man Pleads Guilty to First-Degree Murder: Report

A Lake Ridge man pleaded guilty Monday to first-degree murder in the shooting death last year of a student at Woodbridge High School, according to a media report.

Kawain Tyrell Smalls, 21, faces up to 50 years in prison for the Nov. 10, 2014, killing of Brenden Michael Wilson, 16, near the high school. Prosecutors said they will seek the maximum sentence, WRC-TV Channel 4 reported. Smalls is scheduled to be sentenced on March 14.

The shooting was drug-related, according to the Prince William County police. Four other suspects, including Smalls’ sister and brother, are also facing charges in Wilson’s death, Channel 4 reported.

Wilson, a junior, was found with gunshot wounds on a wooded path near the high school parking lot and died at the scene, the Prince William police said.

The police apprehended Smalls without incident on the day after the shooting at his home at 12704 Dulcinea Place, several blocks from the high school.

In a court hearing back in March, a police detective described how Smalls confessed to the killing, saying it resulted from an attempted ambush and robbery that involved his brother and sister, Channel 4 reported.