By Mike Fletcher
Not guilty pleas were entered Friday in Howard Superior Court 1 on behalf of the four men charged in the April 5, 2008, shooting that killed Abby Rethlake and injured Morgan Vetter.
Three of the four men, Jesse L. Harris Jr., Michael Yates and Reggie Balentine, appeared via video teleconference at the Howard County jail’s courtroom. The fourth suspect, Launden Luckett, appeared in person with his court-appointed attorney, Brad Hamilton. The other three requested a public offender.
Rethlake’s parents sat quietly as the suspects appeared one at a time in front of Judge William Menges, who read the suspects their rights, the charges they face and possible penalties for each charge.
Friends and families of the suspects also attended the hearings.
Howard County Prosecutor James Fleming charged the four suspects Nov. 12 in the shooting after a grand jury, which convened over the summer, indicted the four.
Rethlake, 18, was shot to death while she and Vetter were in Rethlake’s car at Meadowlawn Apartments, 1930 S. Goyer Road. Vetter, who was 19 at the time, also was shot, but survived.
The women were shot multiple times about 3:25 a.m. in the parking lot by a man whom witnesses said fled in an older-model, black, two-door car.
Fleming said Rethlake and Vetter were not the targets of the shooting. The intended target, Mark Matthews, was sitting in the back seat of Rethlake’s car when shots were fired.
Fleming did not disclose a motive for the shootings.
Fleming charged Harris, 26, Chicago, with murder for allegedly shooting and killing Rethlake.
Harris also faces charges of conspiracy to commit murder, two counts of attempted murder and aggravated battery. According to the charging information, Harris allegedly conspired and attempted to kill Matthews and Vetter.
Yates, 26, and Balentine, 32, both of Kokomo, face felony charges of attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder and aiding, inducing or causing murder. Balentine also faces a charge of assisting criminals for allegedly repairing damages to the get-a-way vehicle and transporting suspects out of state to avoid prosecution.
Luckett, 21, Chicago, faces a lone charge of aggravated battery in the injury of Vetter.
None of the four said much except “yes sir” when ask if they understood the charges against them. Harris did say he wanted a change of venue, which Judge Menges said he could take up with his attorney.
All four were ordered to reappear in court Jan. 22 for a status hearing, Feb. 4 for a pre-trial hearing and Feb. 19. Menges also set a Jan. 29 plea cutoff date.
If convicted, Harris could face up to 235 years maximum of all five charges he faces. Balentine’s charges could land him in prison for 236; Yates could get up to 220 and Luckett up to 20 years.
Minutes after the hearings, Balentine was arraigned in Howard Superior Court 4 of C felony bribery and two D felony counts of obstruction of justice stemming from a robbery trial in which Yates was convicted of armed robbery.
A jury Howard Superior Court 1 convicted Yates a day before the four were charged in the Rethlake case on a robbery at Gateway Gardens Apartments that occurred just hours before the shooting of Rethlake and Vetter.
Balentine was charged for allegedly attempting to bribe a juror in Yate’s trial and allegedly talking to a witness and trying to influence her testimony.
Yates is set to be sentenced Dec. 2 on the robbery and could receive up to 20 years in prison.
• Mike Fletcher is the Kokomo Tribune crime reporter. He can be reached at 765-454-8565 or mike.fletcher@kokomotribune.com.
