FAYETTE COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — A Fayette County jury convicted Scott J. Lawless on a lesser charge of second-degree manslaughter for the fatal shooting of 35-year-old Kevin Reel in downtown Lexington in 2023.
Court documents filed on Thursday revealed that the jury recommended a sentencing of 10 years in prison.
LEX 18 previously reported that the shooting occurred around 2:40 a.m. on a Sunday morning at North Limestone and West Short Street in May 2023. Officers responding to the scene and found Reel who had been shot. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Lexington police arrested Lawless in connection with Reel's death. He was initially charged with murder and held in the Fayette County Detention Center.
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The sentence falls within the statutory range for second-degree manslaughter, which allows for five to 10 years in the prison, the documents read.
