BOSTON, Sept. 29, 2017—The teen who stabbed 15-year-old Deon Hopkins last year pleaded guilty today, admitting to the deadly attack rather than face trial, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

AMARI POPE (D.O.B. 10/5/99) of Dorchester pleaded guilty to the crime of manslaughter, reduced from the indicted charge of second-degree murder, in the Feb. 21, 2016, homicide. Judge Christine Roach sentenced him to a term of 10 to 12 years behind bars, which will include time Pope spends as a juvenile in the custody of the Department of Youth Services.

Had the case proceeded to trial on the murder charge, Assistant District Attorney Gregory Henning would have introduced evidence and testimony proving that Pope observed Hopkins that afternoon, then retrieved a knife, followed him, and stabbed him during an encounter on Columbia Road. Hopkins suffered fatal injuries and died at Boston Medical Center.

Based on statements Pope made in the aftermath of the stabbing, as well as additional evidence and statements obtained by homicide detectives in the hours that followed, Pope was arrested that night. He was represented by attorney David Apfel.

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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.