Lima man pleads guilty in murder case

LIMA — A Lima man pleaded guilty to two charges Wednesday in the Allen County Common Pleas Court after the 2022 murder of Lima resident Kobe Bryant.

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

Sentencing was set for 10 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 1, so Bryant’s family could be in attendance.

Austin was arrested Jan. 9, 2023, in connection with Bryant’s death. Officers from the Lima Police Department were dispatched shortly before 10 p.m. on the night of Dec. 29, 2022, to the area of Branson Avenue and Fourth Street. Upon arrival, they found Bryant, 22, in the yard of a residence at 643 E. Fourth St. suffering from gunshot wounds. He was unresponsive and pronounced dead at the scene.

Austin was indicted on charges of aggravated murder and murder with a gang activity specification.

Reach Charlotte Caldwell at 567-242-0451.