Young Wayne County man gets 55 years for killing his father
RICHMOND, Ind. — A young Wayne County man convicted of killing his father has been sentenced to 55 years in prison.
A Wayne Superior Court 1 jury in February found James Beau Burkhart, 19, of Centerville, guilty of murder in the December 2020 shooting death of 51-year-old James Jason Burkhart.
Judge Charles Todd on Friday imposed a 50-year sentence for the murder conviction, and added five years to the prison term as an enhancement because a firearm was used in the crime.
In Indiana, the standard penalty for a murder conviction is a 55-year sentence.
The younger Burkhart was 16 at the time of the slaying.
According to an affidavit in the case, audio from a surveillance camera indicated the teen had shot his father because of how the elder Burkhart had treated his son's mother.
Last November, a co-defendant in the homicide case, Lucas David James Benkert, was found guilty of aiding, inducing or causing murder by a Superior Court 1 jury.
Benkert, now 19, is scheduled to be sentenced this week. He was 15 at the time of the slaying.
The December 2020 homicide took place in the home of Benkert's family along South First Street in Centerville.
James Beau Burkhart is set to stand trial Aug. 5, also in Wayne Superior Court 1, on three charges filed against him last November — two counts of battery resulting in bodily injury to a public safety official, and resisting law enforcement.
According to an affidavit, Burkhart was "participating in recreational activities" in a dayroom in the jail on Oct. 22 when he was observed "misusing an approved handheld electronic communication device" supplied to inmates.
A struggle then ensued, with one officer suffering a concussion and a bloody nose, while the other was left with bruises on his face and jaw, according to the court document.
Douglas Walker is a news reporter for The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Wayne County man, 19, gets 55 years for killing his father
