NKY man skips sentencing for fatal shooting; plea agreement up in the air, prosecutors say

The guilty plea of a man who admitted fatally shooting a woman while intoxicated at his Taylor Mill home could be thrown out after he failed to appear at his sentencing hearing on Monday, prosecutors said.

U.S. marshals are currently searching for Shane Walters, 34, Kenton County Commonwealth's Attorney Rob Sanders confirmed in an email to The Enquirer.

Walters pleaded guilty in February to a single count of second-degree manslaughter for the killing of 33-year-old Megan McCray.

Though Walters was initially scheduled to be sentenced in March, that hearing was rescheduled due to health concerns, court records show.

Prosecutors recommended a sentence of five years in prison. Sanders said it "has not yet been determined" whether his office will back out of Walters' plea agreement.

Timothy Schneider, Walters' attorney, said his client has been "diligent" in attending court hearings and meetings until now.

"I am obviously concerned that Shane missed his sentencing this week," Schneider said. "I hope there is some reasonable explanation for his absence and urge him to do the right thing."

In February 2021, police found McCray lying on the floor of Walters' home in the 800 block of Knollwood Drive, a criminal complaint states. She had a gunshot wound to the chest.

Walters and his roommate were present for the shooting and both men told police Walters was showing McCray how to disassemble and reassemble a handgun, the complaint says.

They said the weapon was in Walters' hands when it went off, the bullet striking McCray. Walters and his roommate called 911 and tried to perform CPR, but McCray ultimately died from her injuries.

Walters told police that he didn't know the gun was loaded when he pulled the trigger in an effort to release and remove the firearm's slide, the complaint states.

Though Walters told investigators he wasn't under the influence of drugs or alcohol, the complaint states, police concluded he was intoxicated when the shooting happened.

He submitted to a blood draw roughly six hours after the shooting and testing discovered his blood alcohol level was .12, according to the complaint, which is above the state's legal limit of .08.

Given that Walters was in police custody and hadn't consumed alcohol since officers arrived at the scene, court records show, his blood alcohol level was actually much higher when the shooting occurred.

Investigators said Walters was "extremely intoxicated" and he "knew, or should have known, the handgun was loaded."

Prosecutors will present first-degree bail jumping charges to a grand jury on Thursday, Sanders said. That offense carries a sentence of one to five years in prison.