Gabriel Perkins pleads guilty to manslaughter in connection to Compass Academy shooting
Seth Ratliff
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) – One of the men charged in connection with the February 2024 shooting at Compass Academy in Idaho Falls has changed his initial plea.
20-year-old Gabriel Perkins pleaded guilty Wednesday to Voluntary Manslaughter in the death of Alex Barber and Aggravated Battery in the shooting of an Idaho Falls man at the Compass Academy in Idaho Falls, in February 2024.
Under a plea agreement, the parties will recommend that Perkins face up to 40 years in prison, according to Bonneville County Prosecuting Attorney Randy Neal.
Perkins is scheduled to be sentenced before Judge Dane H. Watkins, Jr., on June 17, 2025.
The plea agreement was reached through mediation, which involved the surviving victim and the victims’ families, Neal told Local News 8.
Perkins had initially pleaded not guilty after being indicted by a Bonneville County Grand Jury in March of 2024.
Charges are still pending against two other defendants for the events that occurred during the confrontation between over 10 individuals in a parking lot behind the school. For more information, click HERE.