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Last updated on Monday, February 23, 2015
(BEDFORD) - 20-year-old Taylor Flynn of Bedford is scheduled to appear in Lawrence County Superior Court II this afternoon to possibly plead guilty to murder.
Flynn is one of three accused of murdering Rodney Allender on February 27 at Allender's Heltonville home.
Flynn is facing felony charges of murder, robbery resulting in serious bodily injury and burglary resulting in bodily injury.
He is scheduled to appear in court at 2 p.m. Flynn is being represented by attorney John Boren and had initially entered a not guilty plea.
Two other teens were also charged with Allender's murder. 19-year-old Austin Curtis accepted a plea deal and pled guilty to the murder charge on July 28, 2014.
Curtis was sentenced to 55 years in prison with 10 suspended Curtis, who was represented by Bloomington Attorney Sam Shapiro, must also provide a complete and truthful account of what happened the night Rodney Allender was murdered, including the roles of the two co-defendants - 17-year-old Dillon Hicks and 20-year-old Taylor Flynn. If he fails to cooperate, the plea agreement will be null and void and Curtis could face a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
Hicks is scheduled to appear in court on March 9 for a pretrial conference.
Curtis Testifies About Murder
Officers from the Lawrence County Police Department were called to a home at 1758 Dutch Ridge Road after Clinton Allender and his girlfriend arrived and found Rodney's body. According to an autopsy report, Allender died of blunt force trauma to the head.
In court, Curtis admitted to his participation in the robbery where Allender was attacked and killed.
"He will not say he killed Mr. Allender," Shapiro said, "But he did participate in the robbery where Mr. Allender was killed."
According to Curtis the teens planned to rob Allender after they learned he kept a large amount of money in a safe at his home on Dutch Ridge Road.
"The plan, by me and others was to burglarize the home and steal the safe," Curtis said in court.
The teens were planning to burglarize the home when no one was home.
According to Shapiro the teens had gone by the house several times over a number of days before committing the crime.
"The plan was to have Mr. Flynn (a co-defendant in the murder) to dress up like a woman and knock on the door," Shapiro added.
Curtis testified that when Allender opened the door Flynn shot him in the leg.
"Then there was a struggle," Shapiro said.
Curtis said that is when Flynn asked him to hit Allender. Curtis hit Allender twice with a baseball bat, once in the legs and once in the head. Flynn also hit Allender in the head with the rifle butt. Allender was then tied up with duct tape.
Police say the teens allegedly hit and tased Allender repeatedly until he gave them the combinations to his safe. The teens then allegedly ransacked Allender's home, stealing money and guns.
Officers found the home in disarray with furniture overturned, a door ripped off the hinges, a desk emptied and papers thrown around and two safes open and emptied. Police noted there was blood throughout the home.
Rodney Allender was found in his garage by his son and his girlfriend, lying on his side with a severe head injury. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Curtis Addresses The Court
"No words could suffice on how truly sorry I am," Curtis said. "From the bottom of my heart I am sorry. I hope and beg for your forgiveness. I may never forgive myself for what I have done. If I could trade places, I would." Curtis also apologized to his family, the police, the court and the community.
"I was not raised this way," he added. "They (his parents) deserve a better son. I had plans to join the Marines. Instead I shattered my life and those of others. I was around drugs and the wrong people. I hope others learn from my mistake. I have destroyed and hurt families. I will spend the rest of my life making it up... to prove this is not the type of person I am."
Curtis was arrested on March 1, 2014 after being questioned by police and admitting his part of the crime. Flynn and Hicks had fled to Ironton, Ohio and were arrested the same day. They were then extradited back to Lawrence County.
According to Ironton Police Chief Dan Johnson, an officer remembered seeing the white 1995 Chevrolet Beretta used in the crime during his patrols.
Chief Johnson says Flynn and Hicks fled, leading police on a car chase through parts of the city and into a residential area, where officers stopped the pursuit after the Beretta almost hit several children.
Officers lost sight of the vehicle, but soon found it again. The teens stopped the car and then fled on foot and police found them hiding in the back of a van.
According to Hicks and Flynn's probable cause affidavits
A Bedford North Lawrence High School student told police that Flynn, Hicks and and third person had come to his house on February 27, 2014 and bragged how they had "robbed a big guy who lived in the middle of nowhere." According to the witness, Flynn said he had used a stun gun and a taser on the man.
Flynn then threatened the witness, saying if he told anyone Flynn would harm, even kill him.
A face covering that Hicks had been wearing was found in the woods near Empire Quarry. The teens also allegedly hid the gun used to shot Allender in the area of the cemetery near the quarry. But the teens allegedly returned and retrieved the gun, but couldn't find Hick's mask.
A search warrant was issued for the white 1995 Chevrolet Z26 Beretta Flynn was driving on February 27, 2014. The teens used the vehicle to transport the money and the guns from the crime scene in Heltonville back to Bedford. The same vehicle was driven to Ohio.
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