Justin Blake sentenced to 61 years for murder, robbery of Alexander Jackson
MARTINSVILLE — Justin M. Blake could spend a large chunk of the rest of his life behind bars after being sentenced to 61 years in prison Wednesday by Morgan County Superior Court I Judge Peter R. Foley.
Blake was originally scheduled to be sentenced on Friday, but a request was made in early March to move the hearing to Wednesday.
The 22-year-old Blake was found guilty on Feb. 23 of two counts of murder and one county of robbery, a level five felony, in relation to the death of Alexander Dashiell Jackson.
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Blake was sentenced to 58 years behind bars on the first count of murder, with 544 days of jail-time credit and 181 days of good-time credit.
Under Indiana law, Blake will have to serve 75% of his sentence before the possibility of parole.
Blake was also fined $587 in fees — $400 for the public defender reimbursement, $185 for court costs and $1 on each charge.
All of the fees, however, were waived by the courts.
On the robbery count, Blake was sentenced to three years in prison, and will have to serve at 75% of the time for this charge.
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Both sentences will be served consecutively, meaning they two terms will be served back-to-back.
According to sentencing documents, the second count of murder was vacated.
Case history
Originally from Jacksonville, Ill., Jackson moved to the Indianapolis area to study environmental science at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.
Jackson's body was found on Mann Road in northern Morgan County, near the Marion County line on Sept. 13, 2019.
When the body was initially found, the Morgan County Sheriff's Office sought the assistance of local residents using pictures of a T-shirt and set of earrings to help identify the remains.
An autopsy was performed, and about a week after the discovery of the remains, Jackson was identified as the victim.
Jackson was found with no cellphone, identification or money and his pockets had been turned inside out.
The autopsy also determined that Jackson's death had been caused by a gunshot wound, and categorized case as a homicide investigation.
After more than a year of investigating, Blake and Britney Overton, 27, were both arrested and charged in relation to the Jackson's murder.
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During opening statements of court proceedings in February, Morgan County Prosecutor Steve Sonnega said he believes Jackson was running for his life when he was shot.
"Alex almost made it over the fence, but he didn't make it," Sonnega said in February. "He was left for dead."
Overton, who currently faces two charges related to Jackson's death, one charge of murder and a level two felony charge of robbery, testified against Blake in his trial.
Her trial is scheduled to begin May 10.
Contact Reporter-Times editor Lance Gideon at lgideon@reporter-times.com or 765-342-1543. Follow him on Twitter: @LanceOGideon.
This article originally appeared on The Reporter Times: Indianapolis man, Justin Blake, sentenced for murder of Alexander Jackson
