Elkhart 4 Cases Won’t Be Heard In Indiana Supreme Court
ELKHART — The Indiana State Supreme Court Wednesday unanimously denied a petition to rehear cases for three members of the Elkhart Four who had convictions overturned.
The state of Indiana petitioned the Indiana Supreme Court for a rehearing in October after the high court tossed out the felony murder convictions of Blake Layman, Levi Sparks and Anthony Sharp Jr., three of four people accused of felony murder after a 2012 burglary in Elkhart that ended in a fatal shooting.
The court ordered the Elkhart Circuit Court in September to find the three guilty of burglary as a Class B felony, punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Prior to that decision, Sparks was sentenced to 50 years, and Layman and Sharp were sentenced to 55 years in prison.
Layman, Sparks and Sharp, as well as Jose Quiroz, pleaded guilty to felony murder in November 2012. They were accused in connection with the death of 21-year-old Danzele Johnson.
Layman, Quiroz, Sharp and Johnson had attempted to burglarize a house Oct. 3 along Frances Avenue, with Sparks acting as their lookout. The resident, Rodney Scott, confronted them and fired five shots, which struck Layman and Johnson. Johnson died as a result of his injuries.
The teenagers were arrested on the same day and Layman, Sparks and Sharp were found guilty of felony murder during an August 2013 trial. Scott was not charged.
Source: The Elkhart Truth