After a jury found him guilty on every count except murder in a trial that ended in August, Christian Circuit Judge John Atkins carried out the recommended 33 year sentence for the suspect on the remaining crimes Wednesday afternoon and scheduled a new trial date for the murder charge.
The jury found Shakkory Willis—who was accused in the January, 2019 shooting death of Corvyan Thomas at a home on Short Bethel Street—guilty for first-degree robbery, first-degree burglary and second-degree unlawful transaction with a minor for his role in the events that ended with Thomas dead and Dylan Stewart shot in the leg.
They were unable to come to an agreement on the murder charge and that ended with a mistrial.
The jury recommendation was for all of their sentences to run consecutively for a total of 33 years and Judge Atkins denied a request from public defender Eric Bearden Wednesday to allow Willis to serve his sentences concurrently, which would have reduced them to 15 years.
Commonwealth’s Attorney Rick Boling will try Willis a second time on the murder charge and Judge Atkins scheduled the next trial for May 23 of 2022.