LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — A man set to be sentenced Friday in a Lexington homicide decided to withdraw his guilty plea at the last minute.
Juanyah Clay, 21, pleaded guilty in March to an amended count of first-degree manslaughter and other charges, according to court records. The counts he’d pleaded guilty to could have carried 18 years in prison.
Clay was originally charged with murder in the shooting death of 26-year-old Bryan Greene. Clay was 19 years old at the time of the shooting.
On Jan. 30, 2021, Greene was found dead at the Eastridge Apartments on Alumni Drive.
Greene’s family was in court Friday, hoping the sentencing would mark the end of two very long years.
“How these killers get to make so many decisions that hurt the loved ones in the end of it,” said Sherreta Lee, Greene’s mother. “You know, you've heard us and you still keep hurting us like it's personal and we don't know him.”
Lee says that two years is too long to wait for a conclusion to Clay’s case.
“I want justice for his son, justice for us because this was senseless,” Lee said. “You didn't know him, don't know what you've done to this family. Killing him brutally the way you did and you just want to skip out on that and say oh well, another one bites the dust? No, no no.”
Clay has until June 5 to file a motion to withdraw his guilty plea. If he does file the motion, the judge does not have to accept it. He’s due back in court on June 9.
