ALLEN COUNTY, OH (WLIO) - A 19-year-old Lima man will be going to prison for the shooting death of a 14-year-old girl back in February.

Malik Dennis sentenced to mandatory 25 years for shooting death of Lima teen

19-year-old Malik Dennis will be serving a mandatory minimum 25-year prison term with a maximum term of up to 30 and a half years.

19-year-old Malik Dennis will be serving a mandatory minimum 25-year prison term with a maximum term of up to 30 and a half years. Dennis was convicted of involuntary manslaughter, a first-degree felony, and improperly discharging a firearm into a habitation, a second-degree felony, after accepting a plea deal to these charges back on November 15th. 

Back on February 13, 2024, 14-year-old Lauralye Sterling was found dead in her second-story room at a house on Greenlawn Avenue. Two days after the shooting, Dennis was arrested and allegedly confessed to detectives he shot Sterling. 

Malik Dennis sentenced to mandatory 25 years for shooting death of Lima teen

Malik Dennis was convicted of involuntary manslaughter, a first-degree felony, and improperly discharging a firearm into a habitation, a second-degree felony.

According to Lima detectives, during a preliminary hearing, Dennis climbed an antenna outside the home and fired a single gunshot through the window, striking Sterling.

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