TERRE HAUTE —
A Terre Haute man has pleaded guilty to a March 2011 double homicide in Owen County.
Michael Douglas Joyner, 22, faces 130 years in prison when the two-day sentencing hearing starts Nov. 8 in Owen Circuit Court.
Joyner appeared with defense attorney Laura Paul to plead guilty to two counts of murder, two class-B felony counts of attempted robbery resulting in bodily injury and criminal confinement, and class-A misdemeanor charge of carrying a handgun without a license.
Owen County Prosecutor Donald VanDerMoere told the Tribune-Star on Wednesday that his office had been preparing for an Oct. 17 jury trial when the defense presented a plea proposal.
VanDerMoere said the victims’ families were agreeable to reaching a plea agreement.
Joyner was arrested after an Indiana State Police investigation into the double homicide led police to Joyner’s residence in the 2200 block of Poplar Street in Terre Haute. He had been charged in the shooting deaths of Randall W. Bohannon, 54, of Bowling Green, and Brandon H. Hyde, 24, of Terre Haute, at Bohannon’s home on Indiana 46 in Owen County.
According to the probable cause affidavit filed by Detective Stacy Brown of the Indiana State Police at Bloomington, police were notified of the homicides on March 3, and recovered several .40-caliber shell casings at the residence as part of their investigation. They also learned that Hyde recently had been involved in the sale of a tan 2002 Pontiac Bonneville to Joyner’s girlfriend, but the deal had turned sour when the car broke down.
Police found that Joyner took Hyde, along with two other friends, to the rural residence outside Bowling Green. The friends told police that they saw Joyner with a gun pointed at Hyde, and that they heard gunfire. Joyner’s gun was reportedly tossed out the window of a car as Joyner and the two friends fled the scene. Police recovered a .40-caliber handgun laying near the edge of a farm field in the area of the residence.
Brown’s report also states that autopsies determined that Bohannon died from a gunshot wound to the head, and that Hyde died from gunshot wounds to the head, chest and abdomen.
The two friends who went with Joyner and Hyde to the Owen County home also face criminal charges.
Stefanie Smith, 19, of Terre Haute, has been charged with assisting a criminal, a class-C felony, for her alleged participation in events on the night of the shooting. Her trial date is set for Nov. 14.
Denee Olson 24, of Farmersburg, faces a charge of assisting criminal confinement, a class-C felony, for allegedly assisting Joyner by tying Hyde’s hands so he could be taken to the Owen County residence. Her trial date is also set for Nov. 14.
Reporter Lisa Trigg can be reached at 812-231-4254 or lisa.trigg@tribstar.com. Follow her on Twitter @TribStarLisa.
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Suspect pleads guilty to double homicide
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