Panhandle teen sentenced for kick in fatal party brawl

MGN

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (AP) – A Florida Panhandle teenager has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for kicking a man in the face during in a fatal party brawl in 2014.

Nineteen-year-old Chad Earl Mercer II was convicted in September of manslaughter, aggravated battery and felony battery. Witnesses testified that 48-year-old Jackie McClendon was on the ground during the fight when Mercer kicked him in the face like he was kicking a football.

The News Herald reports (http://bit.ly/1PCgA3b ) that defense attorney Walter Smith said it remained unclear whether Mercer’s kick caused McClendon’s death. Smith had asked for leniency for Mercer because of his age.

Mercer also was ordered Tuesday to pay restitution for McClendon’s funeral expenses.

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