Bloglander

Kenan Adams-Kinard, one of the co-defendants charged in the 2013 beating death of WWII veteran Delbert Belton, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder shortly after 3 pm this afternoon.

In exchange for his plea, prosecutors dropped charges against Adams-Kinard for robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery. The 17-year-old faces 20 years in prison at minimum, with credit for time served. Adams-Kinard's accused accomplice, 17-year-old Demetrius Glenn, is still scheduled to go to trial for his role in the murder on Monday. 

In August 2013, Belton, 88, was found beaten, bleeding and barely conscious at the Eagles Lodge parking lot. His violent murder drew international attention and public outrage. In this week's issue, we profiled Belton, or "Shorty" as he was known to his family and friends.

He liked tall blondes. And short ones. And brunettes too.

Before he died in August 2013, Delbert Belton, or "Shorty" as his friends called him, loved to dance. It didn't matter with whom.

On Saturday nights, he'd walk into his favorite spot, an old country bar in Mead called the Lariat Inn, no taller than 5 feet in jeans and cowboy boots, hand raised level to his forehead like a sea captain or a prospector. Mar Kloepfel, one of the cooks, called it his "Indian look" — surveying his surroundings, searching for treasure. Then, with a cheeky grin and a twinkle in his eye, he'd approach a single lady at her table, hold out the palm of one hand and point the other toward the dance floor. He may have been 88 years old, but no woman ever turned him down. 

Read the rest here.