Muncie man pleads guilty to murder

• Joshua M. Haskins on Monday pleaded guilty to murder in the May slaying of Gary Barbour Jr.
• Authorities said the shooting took place outside the apartment of a mutual female friend.
• The plea agreement, taken under advisement, would result in a 45-year prison term.

MUNCIE – Joshua Michael Haskins was scheduled to go on trial Monday for murder.

Instead, the 26-year-old Muncie man pleaded guilty as charged, part of a deal with prosecutors calling for a 45-year prison sentence.

Haskins was accused of gunning down Gary Barbour Jr., 29, outside the South Juniper Lane apartment of a mutual female friend last May 3.

Delaware Circuit Court 2 Judge Kimberly Dowling took the plea agreement under advisement, and tentatively set sentencing for March 12.

At a June hearing, city police detective Robert Scaife said that shortly before the slaying, Haskins and Barbour argued over their apparently simultaneous relationships with the mother.

Scaife also said Haskins was the father of the woman's children and had lived in the apartment.

At Monday's hearing, Haskins and his attorney, John Quirk, said they had considered a defense that the Muncie man had acted in sudden heat, and was guilty of voluntary manslaughter rather than murder.

Deputy Prosecutor Zachary Craig said later that the plea deal calls for the state to end efforts to seek a sentence enhancement — based on the use of a firearm — that could have added to five years to Haskins' prison term.

Haskins was arrested the day after the slaying, reportedly as he made plans to flee Delaware County.

Two acquaintances of Haskins — James Elree Oelslager, 52, and Kasondra D. Elsworth, 30 — are charged with assisting a criminal over allegations they tried to help him avoid being arrested.

The standard penalty for a murder conviction in Indiana is a 55-year prison term.

Contact news reporter Douglas Walker at (765) 213-5851. You can also follow him on Twitter @DouglasWalkerSP.