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BOONE COUNTY, Ind. – Anthony Baumgardt will spend the rest of his life in prison without the chance of parole for murdering Boone County Deputy Jake Pickett in March 2018.
Baumgardt changed his plea to guilty in the case to avoid the death penalty.
Prosecutors were seeking the death penalty and Baumgardt originally asked for the death sentence. His case was set to go to trial next year. In April 2019, the plea deal was announced by Boone County Sheriff Mike Nielsen.
“He got what he deserved today. In my opinion, he’s one of the most evil people that are walking the face of this earth. We’ll never forget Jake, but we have to get through this day and there was justice done today for the community, for Jake, that was today was about,” said Sheriff Nielsen, “Moving on now, we see that there’s a lot more good than there is evil in this world. We saw this community come together.”
Baumgardt is accused of killing Deputy Jake Pickett during a chase in March 2018. The Lebanon Police Department was serving an arrest warrant. While there, they spotted another wanted man who then drove off with Baumgardt.