Man who was charged in a 4-month-old’s death pleads guilty in Fayette County court
A man allegedly responsible for the death of a 4-month-old in 2018 pleaded guilty to amended charges as part of a plea deal and will be sentenced later this month, according to court records.
Brent Kelty, 32, was charged with murder and being a persistent felony offender after the death of 4-month-old Landon Mayes, who died of head trauma. Kelty pleaded guilty to lesser charges of first-degree manslaughter as part of the deal in January, following court mediation. The persistent felony offender charge was dismissed, according to court documents.
Lexington police investigated the death, but the attorney general’s office previously presented the case to a grand jury, resulting in Kelty’s indictment. At that time, a spokesperson for Attorney General Daniel Cameron said representatives couldn’t comment on why the indictment came three years after Mayes’ death.
When the indictment was handed down, Kelty was already in jail on unrelated charges, according to jail records. Kelty had been convicted of several prior felonies in Fayette County since 2010, according to court records, which is what led to his indictment on a charge of being a persistent felony offender.
Kelty faces 16 years in prison for the manslaughter charge. As part of the deal, the sentence imposed with this case should run consecutively with any other felony sentences he received for past crimes, according to court documents.
Kelty is scheduled to be sentenced on Thursday, Feb. 23, at 8:30 a.m. by Fayette Circuit Judge Thomas Travis, who can choose to accept Kelty’s recommended sentence or impose a different sentence.
This story was originally published February 13, 2023 at 9:22 AM.
