A plea deal was entered Wednesday morning in Todd Circuit Court for the gunman in the September, 2018 shooting death of Jerry Robertson on State Line Road near Allensville.
Daniel Westbrook pled guilty to second-degree manslaughter and possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, with the deal coming with a recommended a 10-year sentence, which is the maximum for that charge. A persistent felony offender charge in the indictment was dismissed.
Co-defendant Brandi Scruggs admitted in October to driving Robertson on the day in question and to pulling the car over so that Wesbrook and her other co-defendants in a pickup that was following her could confront Robertson about Facebook posts regarding drug activity that they all wanted deleted. She also claimed Robertson pulled a gun from his clothes and fired the first shot.
Commonwealth’s Attorney Neil Kerr says he has no evidence to dispute that Robertson shot first and he has no evidence to prove that there was intent to kill Robertson, so amending the murder charge to manslaughter seemed prudent.
Westbrook waived formal sentencing and only said he was sorry for what happened when asked by Judge Joe Hendricks if he had a statement.
Kerr spoke on behalf of Robertson’s mother, noting that she will always wonder why the suspects didn’t dial 911 for help for her son if they felt they acted in self-defense. She also lives with the lasting knowledge that her son’s death was unnecessary.
Judge Hendricks accepted the deal and sentenced Westbrook to 10 years, noting his lifestyle of drugs and violence led him to that day.
Westbrook could be parole eligible as soon as this fall with credit for time served, but Kerr believes it unlikely his release would be granted that soon with his lengthy criminal history.
One of the co-defendants, Faith Martin, appeared for a hearing Wednesday to show she has paid costs associated with her plea deal. Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Ashley Farmer told the court that Martin has been failing drug tests and has failed to maintain employment.
Farmer says she’s not far from filing a motion to revoke Martin’s probation and Judge Hendricks warned Martin that she will likely be ordered to serve her five-year prison sentence if she continues to disobey the release conditions.
Martin pled guilty in October to tampering with evidence.
Scruggs has already had her probation revoked and is back in state custody for alleged drug activity and for contacting Robertson’s mother at her place of employment.
Douglas Cropper and Timmie Latham also entered plea deals in October and remain out on probation.
Click here for previous coverage of the case.