State appeals court upholds Portland man's conviction in his father's slaying
PORTLAND, Ind. — The Indiana Court of Appeals has upheld the voluntary manslaughter conviction of a Portland man who killed his father.
Jeremy W. Kelly, 51, pleaded guilty to that charge in Jay Circuit Court last June. He later received a 30-year sentence — the maximum penalty for a Level 2 felony conviction — from Judge Brian Hutchison.
His victim, 71-year-old Gary W. Kelly, died of "multiple blunt force trauma injuries" inflicted during a struggle in the elder Kelly's Portland home on Feb. 25, 2022.
Witnesses said the father and son had a heated argument the night before Gary Kelly died.
When Jeremy Kelly was arrested in Wayne County, he had his father's wallet and credit cards, along with two firearms.
More: Portland man gets 30 years for killing his father
The agreement that saw the younger Kelly plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter resulted in dismissal of two other charges: murder and robbery resulting in serious bodily injury.
In an appeal, Jeremy Kelly said he had entered the guilty plea "under duress."
The day of his sentencing, Hutchison denied Kelly's requests to withdraw his guilty plea and to be appointed a new public defender. In a 3-0 ruling released Wednesday, the Indiana Court of Appeals rejected Kelly's arguments.
Hutchison was "not required to grant that motion (for a new public defender) on the morning of sentencing," the ruling said.
"Trial courts have an obligation to move cases forward, and six weeks had passed between Kelly's change of plea hearing and his sentencing," Judge Melissa S. May wrote.
Last May, Kelly also pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon in Wayne Circuit Court.
Because of his prior record — including convictions for battery against a public safety officer, battery resulting in serious bodily injury, battery with a deadly weapon, criminal confinement and intimidation — he was prohibited from possessing firearms.
The Wayne County firearm conviction led to an additional nine-year sentence.
Kelly — now being held in the Indiana Department of Correction's reception diagnostic center — has a projected release date in May 2051, when he would be 79.
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: Portland man who admitted killing his father fails in appeal bid
