South Bend man receives 60-year sentence after bar fight, shooting left one woman dead
SOUTH BEND — A South Bend man was sentenced to 60 years in prison Thursday in connection to the April 2021 murder of 28-year-old Lateisha Burnett.
Kenneth Dogan, 43, was found guilty of murder, criminal recklessness and invasion of privacy by a jury in late May and St. Joseph Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Hurley gave Dogan a 60-year sentence for the counts Thursday morning. Hurley sentenced Dogan to 60 years for the murder and six years combined for the other two counts, though all three sentences will run simultaneously.
Though Burnett was found dead in the bathtub of a house West Dunham Street in the early morning hours on April 1, 2021, the events leading to her death began the previous night, according to court documents in the case, when Burnett was celebrating the birthday of Dogan's ex-girlfriend at Cheers Pub.
The documents detail that Dogan learned about the party and came to the Roseland bar and "became aggressive," hitting one of his ex-girlfriend's cousins in the head with a glass bottle. Police were called and parties left the business, though Dogan's ex-girlfriend and a few of her friends, including Burnett, drove to the woman's house on Dunham Street to continue celebrating.
Later that night, police were called to the residence for reports of gunfire and found Burnett dead in the residence with gunshot wounds.
Witnesses told investigators they saw Dogan come to the front door of the house with what appeared to be a rifle, court documents say. One witness heard Dogan say "So you want some of this?" and began shooting into the house. A number of people were in the house at the time of the shooting, according to court documents.
When questioned by investigators, Dogan said he went to the house on Dunham Street and saw a number of men with weapons when he looked in the window, court documents said. Dogan said he wasn't armed and the men shot at him when he knocked on the door, suffering bullet wounds to his buttocks and foot.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend man gets 60-year sentence after bar fight, fatal shooting
