Lima man pleads guilty to murder

LIMA – A Lima man pleaded guilty to two counts in Allen County Common Pleas Court on Wednesday in connection with the 2022 murder of Lima resident Kobe Bryant.

Takal Austin, 20, accepted a plea deal that charged him with first-degree manslaughter with a firearm specification and tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony. The deal carries a sentence agreed upon by both parties of 11 to 17 1/2 years in prison for the first count, with a mandatory three years for the specification and three years in prison for the second count. Austin also agreed not to seek judicial release.

The sentencing was scheduled for 10 a.m. on Tuesday, October 1, so that Bryant's family could be present.

Austin was arrested on January 9, 2023, in connection with Bryant's death. Lima Police officers were dispatched to the area of ​​Branson Avenue and Fourth Street shortly before 10 p.m. on the evening of December 29, 2022. Upon arrival, they found Bryant, 22, in the yard of a residence at 643 E. Fourth St. with gunshot wounds. He was unresponsive and pronounced dead at the scene.

Austin was charged with aggravated murder and murder in connection with gang activity.

Reach Charlotte Caldwell at 567-242-0451.