Judge rejects plea deal in Kokomo Beach shooting
Mar. 3—A plea deal filed in the case against a Kokomo man accused of shooting and injuring a juvenile male outside Kokomo Beach Family Aquatic Center last summer was rejected Thursday afternoon in Howard Superior Court IV.
Howard County Superior Court IV Judge Hans Pate told lawyers that the plea agreement for Tristyn Listenbee, 18, was "too light."
"I'm not convinced that it wasn't attempted murder from what I've seen," Pate said. "This happened in a public place in the middle of the day. ... It was crowded ... full of children. ... One bullet could have killed five or six people on a normal day at Kokomo Beach."
Listenbee was charged in relation to a June 15, 2021, shooting at Kokomo Beach. Shortly after 5 p.m., police were dispatched to the area of the aquatic center and nearby Foster Park in reference to a juvenile who was shot and had to be transported to a local hospital before being airlifted to Indianapolis.
During the course of the investigation, police learned from witnesses at the scene that the shooting might have been the result of a fight that occurred earlier that afternoon inside Foster Park that involved at least five juveniles.
Due to the ages of those involved in the incident at the time, specific narratives of the shooting have not been publicly released.
Per court documents, Listenbee, 18, was arrested shortly after the shooting on a charge of attempted murder, a Level 1 felony, for his alleged role in the incident.
But according to the mutually agreed upon plea agreement, Listenbee was expected to plead guilty to amended counts of dangerous possession of a firearm, a Level 5 felony, and criminal recklessness committed with a deadly weapon, a Level 6 felony.
The attempted murder charge would have been dismissed if the plea agreement was accepted by the court, court documents state.
Per Indiana statute, the decision to ultimately accept or reject a plea deal is up to the discretion of the presiding judge.
Defense Attorney John F. Crawford argued at one point Thursday that the victim in the case was interviewed by law enforcement and wouldn't tell police who shot him, adding that there were "four young men" involved in the shooting.
Pate addressed that in his response to his rejection of the plea agreement, stating that shootings happen every day by "young people making poor decisions" and "victims not coming forward."
Listenbee's case now goes back on the court calendar, with a pre-trial slated for June 23 and a trial expected in July.
Police also arrested two other juveniles for their alleged roles in the incident. Each is facing a felony charge of aiding, inducing or causing attempted murder.
Due to their ages, the records of those two juveniles are sealed.
Kim Dunlap can be reached at 765-860-3256 or at kim.dunlap@kokomotribune.com.
