KOKOMO — A Kokomo man was sentenced to 10 years in prison Tuesday for the 2017 stabbing death of a father of three children.
Alan Tinker pleaded guilty to reckless homicide, a felony, as part of a plea agreement in which prosecutors dismissed an aggravated battery charge.
Police arrested Tinker for stabbing Jeremy Peterson, 31, on May 11, 2017 outside the Dollar Tree on Reed Road in Kokomo.
Peterson’s mother, Kimberly Johnson, expects Tinker to do 75 percent of the 10 years in prison or 7.5 years behind bars.
“At least we had our day in court with love and strength of family and friends,” said Johnson after sentencing. “I think the community would be best served finding Karena McClerkin and laying her to rest.”
Karena McClerkin, 19, was last seen walking down the sidewalk in the 1000 block of South Washington Street on Oct. 11, 2016
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Jeremy Peterson was the father to three sons.
“It is sweet justice for our family for such a long period of time,” said Johnson regarding Tinker’s guilty plea. “It’s been a hard, hard road.”
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Johnson also said her son was stabbed in the heart.
“My son never had a chance,” she said.
Court records show Tinker and Peterson did not get along because Tinker had robbed Peterson’s grandmother at gunpoint.
Before he died, Peterson told the medical staff that Tinker stabbed him, according to court records.
