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Judge rejects plea deal for father of 2-year-old who shot mom, sister

Posted at 1:49 PM, Aug 25, 2017
and last updated 2017-08-25 22:32:52-04

INDIANAPOLIS -- A Marion County judge rejected a plea agreement proposed this week for the father of a 2-year-old who shot his sister and mother in December, saying it didn’t give her enough of a say in his sentence.

Kyle Spivey was charged with neglect of a dependent and criminal recklessness after his 2-year-old son got a hold of Spivey’s loaded handgun and accidentally fired it.

According to the probable cause affidavit, Spivey had left the loaded gun in an area where the child had access.

PREVIOUS | Father faces charges after child accidentally shoots mom, sister on Indy’s north side

When the gun discharged, the bullet struck the boy’s 4-year-old sister in the face and then his mother in the back of the head. The 4-year-old sustained extensive injuries to her face and the mother suffered an injury to her brain, including loss of vision in one eye.

When officers arrived on scene, Spivey reportedly told them it was “not that big of a deal; they will be fine.”

Detectives later found a photo posted to social media showing Spivey and his two young children holding a weapon.

Spivey and the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office informed the court on Aug. 10 that they had agreed to the terms of a plea, but on Wednesday, when Spivey was set to enter the plea, it was rejected by Judge Lisa Borges.

Borges said she felt the plea agreement didn’t give her enough discretion in determining Spivey’s sentence.

In the plea agreement, a copy of which was obtained by RTV6, Spivey agreed to plead guilty to neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury, a level 3 felony, and criminal recklessness.

In exchange, Spivey would have served an executed sentence of no more than three years, following by a one year probation period.

 

Spivey also would have agreed to have no contact with his children. The plea allowed him to petition the court to modify the no contact order upon the successful completion of parenting classes.

Spivey’s next court appearance will be a pretrial conference in September. If no plea agreement is reached, a jury trial is currently scheduled in Spivey’s case for Nov. 20.

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