NORWICH – Joshua T. Story, 24, charged with murdering his friend at a Sherburne apartment complex last February, has pleaded guilty to the crime.

In Chenango County Court this morning, Story pleaded guilty to first degree manslaughter in the Feb. 23 shooting death of Kallin Richards, 24, of New Berlin. As part of the plea arrangement, Story will spend 15 years in state prison. Story had originally been charged with second degree murder, but Judge Kevin Dowd agreed to the lesser manslaughter plea because there was no evidence of premeditation.

In court, Story apologized to Richards’ mother and girlfriend for the crime.

On the night the death took place, Story and Richards were spending time together with some other friends playing cards at Story’s 33 Classic St. apartment in the Village of Sherburne after going to the local bar down the street.

The shooting took place just after 2:30 a.m. in the parking lot outside of Story’s apartment. Police responded to the scene after receiving calls about a gunshot from neighboring tenants. When arriving at the scene, officers found Richards dead in his white 2000 Ford Explorer as it rested against a tree in the parking area just outside the apartment complex. An autopsy conducted by Dr. James Terzian determined the cause of death to be a single gunshot wound to the torso, damaging the heart and liver.

Story was apprehended in his apartment shortly after the shooting. Lt. James E. Lloyd, who helped make the arrest, testified in Sherburne Village Court that they found Story asleep in his bedroom and discovered the 12-gauge shotgun used in the shooting a few yards away in the bedroom closet.

After a brief on-site interview with investigators at the scene, officers transported Story to the Sheriff’s Office in Norwich; on the way there, Story allegedly confessed to killing Richards. The victim and defendant were friends, according to the victim’s family. The two men had also worked together at Baillie Lumber in Smyrna.

A complete story on today’s court appearance will be published in Wednesday’s Evening Sun.