Man pleads guilty to providing gun used in deputy's killing

LEBANON, Ind. (AP) - A man accused of providing a handgun used to kill a central Indiana sheriff's deputy has pleaded guilty to all but one of the charges he'd faced.

Twenty-three-year-old John Ball pleaded guilty Friday in Boone County to five drug-related charges and a charge of providing a firearm to an ineligible person.

Under his plea agreement, prosecutors agreed to drop a murder charge Ball had faced.

Anthony Baumgardt of Lebanon was sentenced to life in prison in May after pleading guilty to murder in the March 2018 killing of Boone County Sheriff's Deputy Jacob Pickett.

Prosecutors said Ball gave Baumgardt a handgun prior to Pickett's shooting despite knowing Baumgardt wasn't eligible to buy one.

The 34-year-old deputy was shot while pursuing Baumgardt with his police dog. He died three days later.