Kimberly Hitchens appeared in Starke Circuit Court Wednesday morning for a plea hearing. Hitchens was reportedly involved in events surrounding the Bass Lake shooting incident with Starke County police that also involved Michael Drogosz and John Brooke. She has been charged with Conspiracy to Commit Armed Robbery, two counts of Possession/Manufacturing of a Destructive Device (aiding), and Assisting a Criminal.
Hitchens and her attorney, Dale Allen, and Special Prosecutor, Michael Krebus, agreed on a plea agreement where she would plead guilty to the charge of Assisting a Criminal, a Class D Felony, and the other charges would be dismissed. If the plea agreement was accepted, she would not have to testify against John Brooke when the case went to trial. Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall took the plea under advisement until the Sentencing Hearing which was held an hour later. The Judge said that he had looked over the entire case and the pre-sentence investigation and decided to reject the plea agreement.
Kimberly Hitchens is still scheduled to go on trial on the four charges mentioned. Hitchens and John Brooke will have a combined trial that has been set for April 8th.
