An Owensboro man who was scheduled to stand trial Monday on charges of murder and burglary in relation to a 2019 shooting has instead pleaded guilty to reduced charges as part of an agreement signed Sunday.
Talen Johnson, now 24, was initially charged with murder and first-degree burglary for his alleged role in the fatal shooting of 33-year-old Kevin White in 2019. Also facing charges for the incident is Damartez Thruston, now 24, who was indicted for murder by a Daviess County Grand Jury in May 2019 and arrested later that year in Louisville.
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Brian Quattrocchi, who negotiated the plea, said Johnson provided a proffer and allocution on Sunday as part of the agreement.
Quattrocchi said Johnson is required to serve as a material witness against Thruston as a condition of the plea. Thruston’s trial is scheduled to begin on March 27.
Quattrocchi said that under the terms of Johnson’s plea agreement, the murder charge was amended to facilitation to murder, a Class D felony for which the recommended sentence was 5 years in prison. Quattrocchi said Johnson’s first-degree burglary charge was reduced to second-degree burglary, a Class C felony with a recommended 7-year sentence.
Those two sentences are recommended to run consecutively for a total of 12 years, Quattrocchi said.
Additionally, a separate assault case was amended to second-degree criminal abuse, a Class C felony. The plea deal includes a recommended sentence of 5 years to run concurrently with the other two.
Johnson has already spent approximately 5.5 years in custody at the Daviess County Detention Center.
Johnson’s final sentencing is set for May 2. The plea agreement remains contingent on his cooperation with authorities. Failure to comply could result in the plea being set aside and a new trial date being scheduled, Quattrocchi said.
Quattrocchi noted that the family of Kevin White supported the plea deal, considering it a step toward justice.
