JACOB E. WHITAKER

Jacob Edward Whitaker was convicted Friday of reckless homicide in connection with the death of Justin Kropp.

A jury of seven women and five men deliberated for two hours before reaching its verdict, and recommended a sentence of 11/2 years for Whitaker, 20.

Two days of testimony from law enforcement and eyewitnesses established that Whitaker and five people were at his residence at 7091 Morgantown Road on the night of July 8.

At some point in the night, Whitaker and Kropp, 19, of Scottsville, got into a verbal confrontation that led to Whitaker shoving Kropp twice while holding a loaded .38-caliber handgun in his right hand.

During the second shove, the gun discharged, and the bullet struck Kropp in the head. Kropp died later that night at The Medical Center.

“Justin had a daughter, he died nine days before she turned 11 months old,” Kropp’s mother, Tina Schaner, said Friday during tearful testimony prior to the jury recommending Whitaker’s sentence. “When Justin found out he was going to have a baby, he said he didn’t want his daughter raised without a father like he was.”

Whitaker had been charged with second-degree manslaughter in connection with the death and faced up to 10 years in prison if he had been convicted on that charge.

Instead, the jury returned a guilty verdict on one count of reckless homicide, a Class D felony punishable by one to five years in prison.

Over the course of the trial, attorneys painted competing pictures of the incident that the jury had to consider.

Warren County Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Kristy Vick-Stratton said that Kropp’s death was the result of Whitaker’s risky behavior.

“When someone has a loaded gun, drops it on the floor and it goes off, that is an accident … when someone has a loaded gun, waving it in the air and shoving someone while holding it, that’s knowingly taking a risk,” Vick-Stratton said during her closing argument.

While addressing jurors, Vick-Stratton reminded them that Whitaker knew the gun was loaded and that it worked, bringing up testimony from Trooper Greg Dukes of the Kentucky State Police, who said that he learned in an interview with Whitaker that he and some friends had been shooting with the gun earlier that day.

Vick-Stratton also brought up the testimony of Brittany Martin, Kropp’s girlfriend and the mother of his child.

Martin told jurors Thursday that she saw Whitaker take out the gun and that Whitaker told her the gun was loaded when she asked.

“(Whitaker) knew the gun worked, but he still had it out, and as Brittany told you, he was careless with it and it was in his hand when he shoved the victim and it went off, killing him.”

Matt Baker, the Bowling Green attorney representing Whitaker, maintained that the death was a tragic accident and an unfortunate outcome between two people who knew each other and had been friends.

During his closing argument, Baker brought up the testimony of KSP Sgt. Todd Combs, who responded to the shooting last year as a state trooper.

Combs told jurors that he followed a flashing set of headlights toward the Whitaker residence, that it had been Whitaker trying to get the attention of law enforcement and Whitaker fully cooperated and was honest during the subsequent investigation.

Baker argued that the incident didn’t rise to the level of second-degree manslaughter due to the accidental nature of the gun firing.

“When you think of someone shooting someone else, you think of someone holding a weapon, pointing it and pulling the trigger,” Baker said. “When I ask you to conjure a mental image of that … you point and you shoot and in this case that just is not so.”

Baker also encouraged jurors to consider Martin’s testimony, specifically when she demonstrated how Whitaker had shoved Kropp.

Martin said that Whitaker and Kropp were facing each other during the first shove, and that Kropp had his back turned to Whitaker and had turned his head to face him during the second shove, when the gun discharged and the bullet struck Kropp in the left ear.

Baker said that if that were the case, then the bullet could not have traveled the path it went.

“I don’t mean to disparage Brittany, but her testimony about what happened has become clouded by her loss,” Baker said.

James Whitaker, Jacob’s father, was the only witness to testify for the defense.

Whitaker told jurors Friday that he was sleeping on a couch in his home when his son came from his apartment on the property where the incident occurred.

“I was sleeping on the couch and Jake came in and woke me up,” James Whitaker said. “He was hysterical. I went to the apartment, dialed 911 and tried to do CPR.”

James Whitaker said his son indicated that the shooting was an accident and told jurors that Jacob was left-handed. Other witnesses testified that the gun was in Jacob’s right hand when it discharged.

Whitaker will be sentenced Jan. 26 by Warren Circuit Judge John Grise.