After hung jury in murder trial, man pleads to lesser charge in Lexington

McKissic was accused of shooting and killing 51-year-old Anthony Carter on October 26, 2017.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) – According to the Lexington Herald Leader, a Lexington shooting case from 2017 was settled Monday morning after the man charged with murder was sentenced to six years in state prison, following a guilty plea to an amended reckless homicide charge.

The Herald Leader says 34-year-old Robert Earley McKissic plead guilty to reckless homicide after previously standing trial for murder. McKissic was accused of shooting and killing 51-year-old Anthony Carter on October 26, 2017.

A jury could not reach a verdict and came back hung after a 5 day trial and eight hours of deliberation in August.

The Leader says McKissic was sentenced to 5 years for reckless homicide plus an additional year for being a persistent felony offender, a charge he plead guilty to. He has been detained at the Lexington Fayette County Detention Center since 2018, after his arrest.

He was credited with nearly 4 years of time served.

His Attorney said Monday, that he will be eligible for parole and may be released within a week. McKissic did not speak at the sentencing hearing Monday but testified on his own behalf in his murder trial, claiming innocence and denying he shot and killed Carter.

Fayette Commonwealth’s Attorney Lou Anna Red Corn says McKissic’s conviction on a lesser charge was a result of the jury’s gridlock in August, according to the Herald Leader.

Before the hearing Monday, a victim impact statement was written by Carter’s family and given to Judge Thomas L. Travis.

According to the Herald Leader, at least 9 jurors voted not guilty in McKissic’s murder trial.

The trial featured witness testimony from Ashley Halcomb, Carter’s girlfriend, who said she saw McKissic shoot and kill Carter.