Plea offered in 2006 shooting

By MIKE FLETCHER
Tribune staff writer

May 15, 2008 11:30 pm

— A man charged with murder in the May 9, 2006, shooting death of an Illinois man could receive a 20-year prison sentence if a judge accepts a proposed plea agreement in the case.
The recommended plea offered to Herron Burnett calls for him to plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter and be sentenced to 30 years, with 10 years suspended.
Howard Circuit Court Judge Lynn Murray reviewed the plea Wednesday during a plea hearing and took the matter under advisement.
She will decide whether to grant the plea at a June 25 hearing.
After the hearing, Burnett was led back to his cell, where he is being held without bail.
Burnett was to stand trial beginning Monday.
Burnett has been jailed since his August 2006 arrest in the shooting death of Steven Harvey in the area of Armstrong and Gerhart streets.
When interviewed by police, Burnett admitted being with Harvey, but denied shooting him.
Several witnesses, though, reportedly saw the shooting or heard Burnett say he shot Harvey, according to police.
Burnett, 20, formerly of University Park, Ill., became a suspect early in the case when Kokomo police learned he had been seen with Harvey on May 7, two days prior to Harvey’s slaying.
KPD detectives flew to LaCrosse in southwestern Wisconsin and arrested Burnett for the murder in August of 2006 after he was sentenced in LaCrosse Circuit Court to time served on drug charges.
Kokomo police accuse Burnett of shooting Harvey because Harvey had snitched on him or set him up in a drug deal, according to the charging information contained in the probable cause affidavit.
Kokomo police found Harvey May 9 lying in the street just after midnight on North Armstrong Street. He had been shot in the head and lower body several times. He died a short time after being airlifted to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis.
A vehicle police believe Harvey, 20, had been driving was found still running in the street near his body.
Witnesses also placed Burnett in the car hours prior to the shooting, police say.
Another witness told police she went to the area of Gerhart and Armstrong streets to buy cocaine from Harvey when she saw Burnett shoot him, the court document stated.
If convicted of murder, Burnett could have served up to 65 years in prison.
Mike Fletcher may be reached at (765) 454-8565 or via e-mail at mike.fletcher@kokomotribune.com