Lexington shooting suspect gets probation after judge finds he was set up to be robbed
A 23-year-old Shelbyville man who shot and killed a woman during a Lexington drug deal was given probation Thursday after the court determined that his life was threatened during the incident.
Joseph Gonzalez pleaded guilty to reduced charges of reckless homicide and first-degree wanton endangerment in September as part of a plea deal and was sentenced to probation Thursday, according to court documents. He was originally charged with murder, first-degree robbery, and two counts of first-degree wanton endangerment for the death of a Lexington mother in 2020.
As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors recommended that Gonzalez serve a year and a half for reckless homicide and one year for wanton endangerment. The sentences were suggested to run concurrently, meaning Gonzalez’s total sentence would be a year and a half.
But Fayette Circuit Judge Julie Goodman probated that sentence based on new facts in the case that contradicted previous court testimony and information. Goodman said Thursday that previous testimony about the case was not an accurate representation of what actually happened.
Crystal Howard, 35, died Feb. 20, 2020 at her home on Shaftsbury Road. It was initially alleged that Howard had been shot in the drug deal which had been setup by her son. Lexington police detective Ryan Raker said during previous court testimony that the shooter in the incident attempted to rob Howard and her son at gunpoint before a physical altercation ensued and shots were fired.
Raker said in previous court testimony that Howard’s son and his friend, who was also at the scene, didn’t realize Howard had been shot until they fled the scene of the shooting and got home.
But Goodman said Thursday that additional information later presented in court suggested Gonzalez was setup to be robbed, and his life was threatened by the mother and son who came to the drug deal. After Howard was shot, her son took her home and drove past two hospitals, where he laid her on the floor before calling the police, Goodman said.
“What I am appalled most by, is that a son, rather than take his mother to the hospital, passed two hospitals and took her home where he laid her on the floor before calling police,” Goodman said. “That son has received no consequences and let his mother die. He walks free and is perceived as a victim. This court finds it hard to believe that he is a victim.”
Gonzalez’s attorney, Greg Coulson also spoke to the new facts of the case.
“These people came to rob (Gonzalez), hit him in the face with a gun, and brought knives,” Coulson said. “If (Gonzalez) wouldn’t have used force then he would have died that day. That night instead of taking the person to the hospital, they passed not one but two hospitals, and planted evidence, and let a mother die.
“I watched a man walk up to my office who was eligible for the death penalty, but who could now walk free today.”
Goodman said the deal offered by the commonwealth of a one-and-a-half year sentence spoke to the changed facts of the case.
“It is very telling that the commonwealth suggest the offer they did, because they take crime very seriously,” she said.
This story was originally published November 17, 2022 at 11:23 AM.
