Man who killed Columbus 13-year-old boy sentenced after guilty plea

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A man who pleaded guilty in connection to the death of a 13-year-old boy after the two exchanged gunfire in west Columbus received his sentence Monday.

According to court documents, Krieg Butler Sr. will spend six months in Franklin County Jail, then be placed in Community Control probation for three years on charges of improperly handling a firearm in a motor vehicle and tampering with evidence.

Butler Sr., 38, was originally arrested on murder charges one day after the fatal shooting of 13-year-old Sinzae Reed in October 2022. The Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, however, dismissed the charge after Butler claimed he shot Reed in self-defense.

While a grand jury also didn’t pursue the charge, they did indict him on a count of improperly handling a firearm in a motor vehicle, and another of tampering with evidence.

Butler pleaded guilty to both charges and a judge upheld a recommended sentence agreed upon by the prosecution and defense attorneys. Butler also agreed to testify “should anyone ever be charged in connection with Reed’s death.”

Butler gave descriptions of witnesses to the shootout in the Wedgewood Village Apartments during an interrogation, and told police they would corroborate his claim of self-defense. Investigators then found and interviewed three people matching the descriptions and confirmed the 13-year-old shot at Butler first, according to the prosecutor.

All three of them added that after Reed collapsed in the street, they also saw someone approach and remove what they thought was a firearm from his body. The latter detail matched what one initial witness told investigators, but that person only described it as an object.

After initially denying owning a firearm or that he shot back at Reed when officers arrested him, prosecutors noted Butler later admitted to returning fire and then got rid of his gun after leaving the scene.

Should Butler Sr. violate the terms of the agreement he would be subject to up to four and a half years in prison – 36 months for the weapons charge and 18 months for tampering.