A former soldier charged in connection with the death of Ronald Greene has reached a plea deal with prosecutors

UNION PARISH, La. (KNOE) – Former Louisiana State Trooper Kory York has agreed to a plea deal in the fatal arrest of Louisiana driver Ronald Greene.

The charge was entered in the Union Parish courthouse at approximately 10:45 a.m. on October 28. York pleaded no contest to eight counts of simple battery and received a six-month suspended sentence, a $1,000 fine, 160 hours of community service and a year in prison supervised probation.

York’s initial charges include one count of negligent homicide and 10 counts of malfeasance in office. In September 2024, Louisiana prosecutors dropped the most serious charge of negligent homicide, even though a grand jury had previously indicted York on the same charge.

According to An Associated Press article was written when the negligent homicide charge was dropped, Union Parish District Attorney John Belton concluded that the evidence “did not meet the ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ standard necessary to secure a conviction at trial.”

York was allowed to retire in August 2024, about two months before the settlement was announced.