South Bend man gets nearly 20 years for reckless homicide, armed robbery conviction
SOUTH BEND — Though he was not convicted of murder, Quincy Lunford was sentenced to nearly 20 years of incarceration this week in connection to the January 2021 death of Andrew Blankenship.
Blankenship was killed at his house on West Marion Street and witnesses who testified at Lunford's trial earlier this year said they saw Lunford, 21, holding a rifle and standing "in shock" immediately after a shot rang out.
A St. Joseph County jury did not find Lunford guilty of murder, instead convicting him of reckless homicide and armed robbery after he car-jacked a nearby vehicle and drove away after the shooting.
On Monday, judge Jeffrey Sanford sentenced Lunford to three years for the reckless homicide and nine years for the armed robbery. However, due to Indiana law, convictions involving a firearm are subject to an additional sentencing penalty and Sanford added 7 ½ years to the reckless homicide sentence, meaning Lunford's total sentence comes to 19 ½ years in prison.
At a trial last month, witness testimony and court documents indicated Lunford hung out at the Marion Street house for a few days prior to the shooting and that Blankenship had given Lunford some clothing since he believed Lunford to be homeless.
One witness said they saw Lunford standing near the back door of the home "in shock" and holding the witness’s brown rifle immediately after the shot was fired. Lunford then ran away, the man said.
Lunford's attorney argued that no one really knows exactly what happened since Lunford said he doesn't remember all of the events surrounding the shooting and without conclusive evidence, the jury would be irresponsible to convict Lunford of murder. Meanwhile, prosecutors said Lunford knew why he shot Blankenship and didn't act like a person who accidentally shot someone.
After running away from the house, Lunford stole a car and drove out near the South Bend International Airport, where he was arrested by police.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend man gets 20 years in prison for fatal shooting conviction
