Anthony Manning, who recently entered an Alford plea to his role in the fatal shooting of Calvin “Cue” Taylor in 2020, was formally sentenced to five-years in prison Wednesday in Christian Circuit Court.
Manning entered an Alford plea—which is a guilty plea where the defendant maintains his innocence, but acknowledges there is likely enough evidence to result in a conviction should the case go to trial—to facilitation to complicity to commit murder and first-degree facilitation to complicity to commit robbery. Defense attorney Shannon Powers requested his client be put on probation, though the Commonwealth is opposed.
Manning told Judge Andrew Self that he feels a lot of regret about what happened, and often thinks about what he could have done to change things.
Judge Self asked for clarification on the charges, with Commonwealth’s Attorney Rick Boling confirming that there is no evidence Manning knew about the crimes or was involved in the murder of Taylor.
Ultimately, Judge Self denied the request for probation, but says that Manning will likely be eligible for parole very soon, as he has served the amount required for parole eligibility already. The plea deal also comes with requirement that Manning testify at the trial of Larayna Manning, who is charged with murder and first-degree robbery.
Manning drove his mother, Larayna Manning, to Taylor’s residence on North Kentucky Avenue and then went inside after hearing gunfire.