Kevin Shuffitt
A local man who entered into a plea bargain and said he committed an armed robbery and caused a fatal car crash was sentenced to 10 years in prison Tuesday.
Kevin W. Shuffitt, 21, had pleaded guilty to two Level 5 felonies in Bartholomew Superior Court 1 earlier this year stemming from two separate cases. His sentence was two years less than the maximum allowed under state law.
The charge of criminal recklessness came from a Nov. 8, 2021 incident at the intersection of Seventh Street and Central Avenue. The defendant’s truck pulled out into the intersection and struck a vehicle, court documents state. A passenger in the second vehicle, Jeremy O. Stillabower, 44, of Columbus, suffered multiple injuries and later died in an Indianapolis hospital. His wife of only one month, Kelley Stillabower, said in court she suffered whiplash and a severe concussion.
Investigators say the defendant’s truck struck another vehicle twice on Seventh Street near Cottage Avenue moments before it crashed into the Stillabower vehicle.
In the second case, Shuffitt was one of three people arrested in connection with an armed robbery that occurred on July 12, 2021. The victim was held at gunpoint in the 1000 block of California Street and was struck in the face several times with a pellet gun before the perpetrators stole his bicycle.
Originally facing one count of robbery resulting in bodily injury as a Level 3 felony, Shuffitt was allowed to plead guilty to the lesser charge of armed robbery as a Level 5 felony.
Judge James Worton gave Shuffitt a six-year sentence for the criminal recklessness conviction and four years in the robbery case.
Testifying in his own behalf, Shuffitt blamed anger issues as the reason he caused the accident. The widow of the victim said she learned that Shuffitt had written a post on social media before the crash that he was so angry he wanted to kill someone.
“What right do you have to play God?” Kelly Stillabower asked the defendant. “What right do you have to live the rest of your life?”
She closed her statement by telling the judge she felt “a life for a life” would be an appropriate sentence for Shuffitt.
Worton cited several aggravating factors in the sentence. They included a criminal juvenile record that included six felony charges, breaking terms of probation in both Bartholomew and Jackson counties, being on probation or out on bail during both offenses, using a form of synthetic cannabis prior to the accident, causing a significant loss to Stillabower’s family and not taking advantage of opportunities provided to him to receive addiction treatment.
Although Worton did not cite it as part of his sentencing, the judge did note publicly a pre-sentence assessment indicates Shuffitt is at a high risk of committing further offenses.
The judge cited two mitigating factors that kept him from handing down a maximum sentence, the defendant’s age and his expression of remorse.
While friends and family read victim impact statements prior to sentencing, Shuffitt looked straight at them. When he turned his head to look at the spectators, tears could be seen in his eyes.
Charges dismissed in the agreement include two counts of criminal recklessness as a Level 6 felony, as well as two charges from an Oct. 3, 2020 arrest: unlawful possession of a syringe as a Level 6 felony and a misdemeanor charge of possession of paraphernalia.
