A Todd County man charged in connection to a fatal hunting accident that claimed the life of his brother entered a guilty plea as part of a plea agreement in Christian County Circuit Court Wednesday afternoon.
Julian Newton was charged with second-degree manslaughter, first-degree wanton endangerment, and hunting-related offenses in the shooting death of his brother, 58-year old Charles Newton while they were hunting on McKinney Road in Christian County on October 18, 2020.
Newton and his attorney Mark Gilbert along with Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Stephanie Bolen appeared before Judge Andrew Self, who read the charges listed as part of the plea agreement, including the manslaughter offense that was amended to reckless homicide.
click to download audioIn addition, the agreement includes forfeiture of all items seized, including a four-wheeler and van.
Gilbert also requested Judge Self to grant unsupervised probation because this was a tragic hunting accident and Newton is not a threat to the community.
click to download audioJudge Self said he agreed that he did not believe Newton was a threat to the community. He then handed down Newton’s sentence of five years and granted the motion of a pre-trial diversion including unsupervised probation.
click to download audioJudge Self also waived all of Newton’s court costs and fees.