Timothy Sizemore

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HAZARD – A Perry County man originally charged with murder could serve a decade in prison after pleading to a lesser charge.

Timothy Ryan Sizemore appeared in Perry Circuit Court on Thursday where he pleaded guilty to an amended charge of first-degree manslaughter stemming from an incident that left 31-year-old Samuel Louive dead.

Sizemore, 29, was alleged to have shot Louive several times at a residence in Combs on Nov. 5, 2011. Kentucky State Police Detective Kevin Hurt testified during Sizemore’s preliminary hearing in 2011 that officers at the scene collected 17 shell casings outside of the residence on Baker Street, and a medical examiner had located nine bullets inside Louive’s body.

Sizemore, along with what Hurt said was the .40 caliber handgun used in the incident, was located at a separate home in Combs on the night of the shooting. Sizemore was indicted in January 2012 on charges of murder and two counts of first-degree wanton endangerment.

Special prosecutor Parker Boggs, the commonwealth’s attorney in Harlan County, noted the agreement announced on Thursday will have Sizemore pleading to the amended charge of first-degree manslaughter for a total of 10 years to serve. The two additional counts of wanton endangerment would be dismissed at the time of sentencing, if Special Judge John David Caudill accepts the plea deal.

Boggs said while he recommended a sentence of 10 years to serve on Sizemore’s guilty plea, he would not have accepted any type of probation in the case.

Sizemore is scheduled for sentencing on July 11.