Man Sentenced To 25 Years For Shooting, Killing McLain High School Student At 2022 Homecoming Game

A Tulsa County judge sentenced an 18-year-old to 25 years in prison for shooting and killing a McLain High School student at the homecoming football game in 2022. 

Ni’Avien Golden pled guilty to first-degree manslaughter in September for shooting and killing 17-year-old Terron Yarbrough and shooting and injuring three others. 

During sentencing on Tuesday afternoon, Golden asked the judge for lenience. Golden said he made a mistake that he wished he could take back and asked the judge to send him to prison for 10 years.

But the judge had some harsh words for him and said this was way more than a mistake. He says Golden decided to bring a gun to a football game. He said this is about young men acting childish. 

Prosecutors say Golden and some other teenagers got into a fight at the end of the football game and Golden pulled a gun and fired several shots into a crowd and hit four people. They say Golden didn’t go to McLain, but he brought a gun to the game, he initiated the fight, and he’s the only one who pulled a gun. 

Golden’s attorney has argued that Golden was jumped by a group of people and acted in self-defense. He says Golden isn’t a bad kid, has never been in trouble and he turned himself in after the shooting. He called Golden an idiot that night who made an incredibly stupid choice. 

The victim’s grandmother says her grandson was a great young man and she hopes this sentence sends a message to all of the young kids out there solving their problems with guns. 

“25 years, I was thinking he needs to go for life that ain’t going to help him and this way he will have a way out, showing that he is going to be a man and take responsibilities for whatever you do,” said Deborah Yarbrough, the victim's grandmother.

Prosecutors say Golden made horrible choices that led to the death of a young man and it could have been worse. 

“The suggestion this was just a mistake, that this is something we regret really mischaracterized what happened here. I think the judges’ harsh words as you said really captured what truly happened. There were about a million different ways this could have de-escalated instead of all the deliberate choices the defendant made to escalate it,” said First Assistant District Attorney Erik Grayless. 

News On 6 asked Golden’s attorney for a comment, but he declined. 

The judge sentenced Golden to 25 years for each person he shot, but those sentences will run together. 

This is a developing story. Refresh this page for updates.

Related Coverage:

1. Suspect In Deadly Shooting At McLain 2022 Homecoming Game Pleads Guilty To Manslaughter
2. Teen Charged With Fatal McLain High School Football Shooting Can't Use Stand Your Ground Laws, Court Rules
3. 17-Year-Old Shot, Killed At McLain High School Football Homecoming Game
4. Student Killed In Shooting At McLain Homecoming Game Identified
5. Family Remembers 17-Year-Old Shot, Killed At McLain Football Game
6. Tulsa Co. District Attorney Files Motion To Sentence McLain High School Shooting Suspect As Adult