JACKSBORO, Tenn. – Kenneth Bartley Jr., 15, pleaded guilty April 10 to killing one Campbell County Comprehensive High School official and wounding two others in a 2005 shooting.
Bartley was sentenced to 45 years in prison for one count of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted second-degree murder as part of a plea deal.
Bartley shot and killed Assistant Principal Ken Bruce, 48, and wounded Principal Gary Seale and Assistant Principal Jim Pierce on Nov. 8, 2005 in the school’s principal’s office. Bartley was called to the principal’s office when the officials heard he brought a gun to school. A Sheriff’s official testified that Bartley claimed the pistol belonged to his father and that he planned on trading it for OxyContin, a powerful painkiller.
Bartley was facing life in prison (a minimum of 51 years) for first-degree murder and felony murder.