A 54-year-old Central City man has pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of second-degree murder in connection with the shooting and burning death of Clender Edmond of the Metro-East in December of last year.
As part of the plea agreement, Cardell Thomas was sentenced to 20 years in prison to be followed by two years of parole. He will receive credit for 322 days served in the Marion County Jail since his arrest.
The second-degree murder charge says Thomas, or one for whose conduct he was legally accountable for while committing first-degree murder, knowingly killed Edmond by shooting him in the body with a firearm and at the time of the killing was acting under a sudden and intense passion resulting from serious provocation. Thomas received the maximum 20-year sentence allowed under the charge. As part of the plea, the first-degree murder count was dropped.
The shooting death and the later burning of Edmond’s remains took place at Thomas’ home in the 600 block of East Green Street Road just east of Central City.
Thomas is the second to plead guilty to the murder after the trigger-man Mantez Duncan was found guilty of first-degree murder by a Marion County Jury and was sentenced to 55 years in prison. Darleedria “Bubbles” Flippen of Centralia received a six-year prison term after entering an Alford plea to a reduced charge of robbery.
Two others still have first-degree murder charges pending. They are Krystal Scerba and Blake Shahan of Centralia.
During his testimony at Duncan’s trial, Cardell said Duncan had asked him to use his home to speak to someone who had taken advantage of him.
Cardell asked why, and Duncan reportedly said because it is secluded. Cardell said he was in a cloudy haze at the time from the use of cocaine, but answered “hell no” if he thought what happened would occur.
Cardell explained the shooting occurred in his garage after money Edmond was accused of taking from Duncan could be found. He told the jury the body then laid in his garage until Duncan returned the next day and the two moved the body to the burn pile behind his home where it was then set on fire with gasoline.
