The Crestwood man charged with murder in the May 2020 shooting death of a La Grange man was convicted April 12 of manslaughter, court documents show.
Eli Walker, 42, was also convicted by the jury of first-degree wanton endangerment and tampering with physical evidence. A charge of menacing was previously dropped.
Walker is scheduled to be sentenced at 9 a.m. May 13 in Oldham Circuit Court. Commonwealth’s Attorney Courtney Tigue Baxter said in a social media post her office is recommending a 20-year sentence.
Walker called police the night of the incident and said he shot someone inside a house. Police met with Walker at the Park and Ride in Buckner after the shooting, according to dispatch radio communication. Walker stated to police that Johnson had assaulted him at a house near New Century Plumbing and that he shot him.
Emergency medical services arrived at 3608 La Grange Road around 9:35 p.m. and told dispatch Johnson had suffered multiple gunshot wounds. Johnson was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the police citation.
The weapon used to kill Johnson was a handgun that police later recovered. Walker had kept the handgun secured in his vehicle following the shooting, according to dispatch radio communication.
Walker was arrested and charged with first-degree manslaughter. He’s currently being held at the Oldham County Detention Center.
Walker had been previously charged and arrested earlier that year by Kentucky State Police in Trimble County for a number of charges including possession of marijuana, buying/possessing drug paraphernalia and possession of methamphetamine and operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol/drugs.
During that year, Johnson had been indicted by a grand jury, on two separate instances, for several drug-related offenses.