Owensboro Man Accepts Plea Agreement in 2019 Murder Case

An Owensboro man who was scheduled to go on trial Monday on murder and robbery charges in connection with a 2019 shooting has instead pleaded guilty to reduced charges as part of a plea deal signed Sunday.

Talen Johnson, now 24, was initially charged with first-degree murder and burglary for his alleged role in the fatal shooting of Kevin White, 33, in 2019. He also faces charges in the incident is Demartez Thruston, now 24, who was indicted for murder by a Daviess County grand jury in May 2019 and arrested later that year in Louisville.

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Brian Quattrorocchi, who negotiated the plea, said Johnson provided a character and assignment on Sunday as part of the agreement.

Quattrorocchi said Johnson is required to serve as a material witness against Thruston as a condition of the plea. Thruston’s trial is scheduled to begin on March 27.

Quattrorocchi said that under the terms of Johnson’s plea agreement, the murder charge was amended to facilitating murder, a Class D felony for which the recommended sentence was 5 years in prison. Quattrorocchi said Johnson’s first-degree burglary charge was reduced to second-degree burglary, a Class C felony with a recommended sentence of 7 years.

Those two sentences are recommended to run consecutively for a total of 12 years, Quattrorocchi said.

In addition, a separate count of assault in the second degree was amended to criminal mischief, a class C felony. The plea agreement includes a recommended sentence of 5 years to run concurrently with the other two.

Johnson has already spent about 5.5 years in custody at the Daviess County Detention Center.

Johnson’s final sentencing is set for May 2. The plea deal remains contingent on his cooperation with authorities. Failure to comply could result in the plea being revoked and a new trial date has been scheduled, Quattrorocchi said.

Quattrorocchi noted that Kevin White’s family supported the plea deal, seeing it as a step toward justice.