Murder defendant pleads guilty to reduced charges

One of nine defendants in a New Year’s Day murder that Spokane police say was gang-related pleaded guilty Wednesday to reduced charges.

Eric Burton Jr., 20, pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree assault in the shooting death of rival gang member Calvin Banks, 24. He had been charged with second-degree murder, first-degree assault and riot.

Superior Court Judge Tari Eitzen sentenced Burton to a year in prison and ordered him to pay $7,655 in restitution.

The alleged shooter, Demetrius C. Route, 18, is tentatively scheduled for trial on Sept. 12.

Police say Route killed Banks with a single shot to the heart in a 2 a.m. confrontation outside the Crazy 8’s bar at 21 E. Lincoln Road, just off North Division.

Route, Burton and other members of a Compton, Calif., gang went to the bar in search of Banks, whose gang originated in Arkansas, police said. The gangs had a long-running dispute, according to police.

Officers said members of Banks’ gang returned fire, accidentally grazing the neck of a young woman who was standing nearby.