Third suspect charged in death of Amanda Blackburn reaches plea agreement

INDIANAPOLIS — The third suspect charged in the 2015 death of Amanda Blackburn reached a plea deal on Monday.

Diano Gordon pled guilty by agreement to robbery resulting in serious bodily injury and was ordered to serve a 30-year sentence for his role in the fatal robbery of Amanda Blackburn.

He'll serve 25 years in prison with five years of his sentence suspended, according to the Marion County Prosecutor's Office.

According to online court records, two murder counts, a burglary count, a theft count and a habitual offender county were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.

Earlier this month, Larry Jo Taylor was found guilty of two counts of murder but not guilty of a third in Blackburn's death after a bench trial.

Blackburn was 28-years-old and pregnant when she was killed in the Nov. 10, 2015, shooting.

Gordon, Taylor, and a third suspect, Jalen Watson, were accused of entering Blackburn's house on Sunnyfield Court sometime between 5:30 and 6:30 a.m. on the morning of Nov. 10, 2015. According to police, the men assaulted her and then shot her in the head.

Watson pleaded guilty to robbery and two counts of burglary in 2017. On March 12, 2021, Marion Superior Court Judge Grant Hawkins sentenced Watson to 29 years in prison. Hawkins noted in the order that he will consider reducing the sentence after Watson cooperates with prosecutors and if he stays on good behavior in prison.

Under terms of the plea agreement, records show prosecutors dismissed murder, burglary, theft and auto theft charges against Watson.