INDIANAPOLIS — A Marion County judge sentenced one of the men involved in the 2015 murder of Amanda Blackburn to decades in prison. Blackburn, who was pregnant at the time, was married to an Indianapolis pastor.
The judge sentenced Jalen Watson to 29 years for robbery resulting in serious bodily injury and 10 years each for two counts of burglary. The sentences will be served concurrently.
Watson pleaded guilty in 2017 to three charges related to Blackburn's death, but sentencing was delayed for several years while he helped with the prosecution of two other men also involved in the crime. As part of the plea deal, the prosecutor dropped seven charges in the case, including two murder charges.
The sentencing order, which came down March 12, also says the judge will consider reducing the sentence after Watson finishes helping with the other cases.
Blackburn was murdered during a violent home invasion on the northwest side of Indianapolis in November of 2015. Police said suspects broke into the home and shot her to death while her husband, Davey, was at the gym. The couple's toddler daughter was home during the incident but was not injured.
In the weeks following the crime, police arrested Watson, Diano Gordon and Larry Jo Taylor. Both Watson and Gordon pointed to Taylor as the person who fired the gun.
Gordon reached an agreement with prosecutors in 2018 to plead guilty to robbery resulting in serious bodily injury and two counts of burglary. He also agreed to help the state prosecute Taylor. Gordon is scheduled for a change of plea hearing June 8.
Taylor has not pleaded guilty to any charges and is scheduled for a hearing June 4.
Watson's plea agreement also wrapped up another case in which he and Taylor are accused - another break-in the week before Blackburn was murdered. In that case, investigators said Watson and Taylor entered the victim's apartment and demanded money. Taylor is accused of sexually assaulting the victim.
Watson pleaded guilty to burglary with a deadly weapon in that case, and the 29-year sentence will be served at the same time as the burglary charge for the Blackburn case.
