Campbell to plead guilty in murder case

A Richmond man accused of helping to kill Michael Sekse inside a shed on Sheridan Street in March 2012 intends to plead guilty in the case, according to court documents.

Last week, Jeffrey Arnold, the attorney for Robert W. Campbell, filed a notice of intent to plead guilty in Wayne County Superior Court I.

According to the document, Campbell, 20, will plead guilty to murder and two counts of conspiracy to commit robbery, one a Class A felony and the other a Class B.

The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office has agreed to drop its efforts to have Campbell sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, according to the filing.

A hearing date on Campbell’s change of plea has not been set.

Campbell was one of five co-defendants charged in the March 20, 2012, killing of Sekse during a robbery in a shed behind the home of Jonathan Gray at 910 Sheridan St.

Authorities say Sekse was stabbed multiple times before Campbell grabbed a gun and shot Sekse in the head.

The other four co-defendants — Gray, Montell Westfall, Matthew Allen and David Lady — were convicted and are serving prison time.

Campbell previously had agreed to a plea deal in the case, saying he would plead guilty to murder in exchange for all other charges being dropped and Campbell’s testimony against his co-defendants in the case.

But in August of last year, Campbell refused to testify at Gray’s trial. After being ordered by the judge to testify, Campbell continued to refuse and was charged with contempt of court.

As a result, Wayne County Prosecutor Mike Shipman asked the court to withdraw the plea agreement, forcing Campbell to face trial on all of the original counts: murder, felony murder, four counts of robbery resulting in serious bodily injury (a Class A felony) and three counts of armed robbery (a Class B felony).

Wayne County Superior Court I Judge Charles K. Todd last year heard arguments from Shipman and Arnold before giving the state and defense time to submit further information supporting their stances.

At the time, Arnold maintained that being tried for contempt could result in double jeopardy against Campbell if the plea agreement was withdrawn. Todd, however, was clear Campbell's contempt conviction was the result of violating the court order and not because he violated the plea agreement.

Arnold then filed an appeal of that ruling, and the Indiana Court of Appeals earlier this year affirmed Todd's ruling. Campbell's trial was slated for Jan. 20.