First Posted: 3/26/2015
LIMA — A deal was put on the table Thursday for Markelus Carter to plead to murder and have a chance to be released from prison after serving 15 years.
If he accepts the deal by April 8, prosecutors will drop the charges of aggravated murder with a firearm and having a firearm under a court sanction over the Feb. 23, 2009, slaying of Ken Warrington outside a home at 436 E. McKibben St. Warrington was shot four times in the upper torso.
The deal would shave off a minimum of 13 years off the maximum sentence he would face on the two charges.
Carter, who has maintained his innocence, was hit with the offer for the first time Thursday during a hearing in Allen County Common Pleas Court.
Judge Jeffrey Reed also ordered Carter’s prison records be released after Carter’s attorney raised the issue of competency to stand trial.
“I want to get a complete picture of any psychological issues that came up while in the institution,” Reed said.
The judge scheduled another hearing for April 8 with the trial set for April 20.
