Man sentenced to 10 years in death of father

LEXINGTON, Ky. - A Lexington man who pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter in the 2010 shooting death of his father has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.

A judge handed down the prison term to 20-year-old Verdis Kyle Pennington III in Fayette Circuit Court on Monday.

The younger Pennington was a teenager when he pulled the trigger and shot 50-year-old Verdis K. Pennington Jr., on Nov. 30, 2010.

The coroner says Pennington, Jr. later died at UK Hospital from a gunshot wound to the head. Police initially believed the death to be accidental, but changed that theory after discovering the pair had an argument before the shooting.

The victim's wife and shooter's mother, Angela Pennington, told WLEX-TV (bit.ly/OOsP0c) that her son was verbally abused by his father and "reached a breaking point."