Nashville Singer Gunned Down by Group of Juveniles Ages 12-16, Police Say
Kyle Yorlets was chasing the dream as the singer for a Nashville-based band who also worked as a bartender to help pay the bills until he was gunned down outside of his home Thursday night, allegedly by a pack of juveniles.
“We are heartbroken,” Yorlets’s bandmates in the group Carverton said a statement Friday morning. “Our condolences for his family and loved ones and all the lives that he touched. We will never forget Kyle, and though he is gone too soon his legacy is here to stay.”
As his friends mourned, the justice system responded. Prosecutors said they want the five juveniles involved to be tried as adults, something very rare in Tennessee, the Tennessean reported.
“The investigation shows that the five were in a stolen Chevrolet Colorado pickup truck in the alley that runs behind Yorlets’ home when they spotted him outside. The juveniles interacted with Yorlets, took his wallet, and ultimately demanded that he surrender the keys to his vehicle. It is believed that he was fatally shot after he refused,” a police statement said.
The group accused of being responsible for his death is made up of three girls, aged 12, 14 and 15, and two boys, aged 13 and 16.
Five suspects, ages 12 to 16, busted in fatal shooting of Nashville musician Kyle Yorlets https://t.co/UTHI1dTS5t pic.twitter.com/A7jChNxj0z
— San Diego Union-Tribune (@sdut) February 8, 2019
Although a lawyer for the 12-year-old girl wanted her to be tried as a child, Assistant District Attorney Stacy Miller disagreed during a juvenile court hearing.
“She didn’t run from there, and she didn’t call the police,” Miller said. “She’s as guilty as they are.”
The group was arrested Friday, at which time police took possession of two guns, police spokesman Don Aaron said.
This is mind-bending.. 5 children between the ages of 12 and 16 charged with killing a 24-year-old Nashville musician outside his home after he refused to give them his car keys. Kyle Yorlets was the lead singer in the band Carverton. https://t.co/Rhf5aWqnK8 via @tennessean
— Janet Shamlian (@JanetShamlian) February 8, 2019
Aaron said the police hunt for the juveniles began as a search for the 12-year-old girl, who had run away from home, The Washington Post reported.
Aaron said that as they were searching for the girl, police found Snapchat posts showing her “with other young people with guns.”
Police then took testimony from witnesses near where Yorlets were shot and learned that the shooting and missing person cases had intersected.
Police said that after Yorlets was shot, he was able to return inside to the house where he was living. He was found an hour later by a housemate. At that point, he was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Kyle Yorlets’ shooting death shocks friends, bandmates: ‘We lost our brother, best friend …’ https://t.co/86jzL8q8Q8
— Tennessean (@Tennessean) February 8, 2019
A GoFundMe page has been established to assist the Yorlets family with funeral expenses. By early Sunday afternoon, it had raised over $37,000.
Carverton, the band with which Yorlets sang, had its debut album scheduled for release next month.
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