NEW CASTLE, IN — The Indiana Court of Appeals has declined to reduce the eight-year prison term a New Castle teenager received for his role in a homicide.
In May 2024, Adrian James Dukes, now 17, received a 12-year sentence — eight years of incarceration followed by four years on probation — from Henry Circuit Court 1 Judge Bob Witham.
Dukes had pleaded guilty to unlawful transfer of a handgun used to commit murder, a Level 3 felony carrying up to 16 years in prison.
Dukes, after being waived from juvenile jurisdiction into adult court, was charged in November 2023 with aiding, inducing or causing murder. That count was dismissed as part of the agreement leading to the teen’s guilty plea to the gun charge.
Dukes had been accused of providing a co-defendant — Quinton M. Vann, who was 13 years old at the time — with the handgun used to fatally shoot Ernest Thornsberry Jr. The 47-year-old New Castle man was gunned down as he walked near 21st Street and A Avenue on May 2, 2023.
Vann, now 16, is set to stand trial on a murder charge beginning Aug. 25 in Circuit Court 1. However, his defense attorneys have requested a continuance.
In his appeal, Dukes maintained his eight-year sentence was too harsh.
In a 3-0 decision issued on Aug. 15, the appeals court disagreed and allowed the sentence to stand.
In the ruling, Judge Rudolph Pyle III referred to Dukes’ “extensive contact with the juvenile courts and law enforcement” before the 2023 homicide.
The judge noted Dukes at one point was accused of threatening to kill members of his family and was on probation in juvenile court at the time of the fatal shooting.
“It is clear that Dukes has not responded well to previous attempts to rehabilitate his behavior,” Pyle wrote.
Dukes, apparently incarcerated at a facility for juvenile offenders, has a projected release date in April 2029, according to state Department of Correction records.
Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Court declines to reduce sentence of New Castle teen who provided gun used in slaying
Reporting by Douglas Walker, Muncie Star Press / Muncie Star Press
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