Plea deal reached in prison death case

An inmate at the Jefferson City Correctional Center has pleaded guilty to a charge in connection with the death of another inmate in November 2015.

During a hearing Wednesday before Special Judge Robert Schollmeyer, Kartez Hardin, 42, pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of heroin.

Under a plea agreement with the Cole County Prosecutor's Office, Hardin was sentenced to 15 years in prison, to run concurrent with a sentence he is currently serving. Prosecutors also agreed to drop a charge of second-degree murder in this case.

The charging documents in this case showed Hardin had sold heroin to inmate Gregory Medley, 38, who authorities said was killed by a heroin overdose. Hardin admitted to this during Wednesday's hearing.

According to the Missouri Department of Corrections, Medley was pronounced dead at the Correctional Center on the afternoon of Nov. 30, 2015.

Medley was serving 30 years for first-degree assault, armed criminal action and first-degree robbery for crimes committed in Green County. Medley had been in DOC custody since the end of January 2009.

An autopsy was done on Medley shortly after his death, but DOC officials at the time did not suspect foul play was involved.

Hardin has been serving a 75-year sentence for a December 2010 case out of St. Louis. The charges were forcible rape, two counts of kidnapping, endangering the welfare of a child, property damage, aggravated stalking, six counts of violating a protective order, domestic assault and victim tampering. He was sentenced and placed in DOC custody in March 2012.