CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – A Clarksville man was sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder for his involvement in the 2018 home invasion of a residence on Post Road that left one dead.
Tyler Stilke, 24, was sentenced to serve the 15 years at 100% with the Tennessee Department of Corrections in Judge Robert Bateman’s court on Wednesday.
In 2020, Stilke entered an open guilty plea to the lesser included charge of second-degree murder. He was one of five originally indicted on charges of first-degree felony murder and aggravated burglary in the death of 21-year-old Andrew Young.
The home invasion
On May 11, 2018, a little after midnight, four or five men wearing masks broke into the Post Road home of Thomas and Gayle Faulkner, Young’s grandparents, according to previous Clarksville Now reports.
Once in the home, the men held the Faulkners at gunpoint and ushered them into the living room. When Young appeared armed with a gun, he was shot three times – and one of those was a fatal shot to his head, the reports said.
According to District Attorney General Robert Nash, the home was targeted because of Young’s involvement in selling marijuana.
The men took marijuana, guns and cash, and they fled the home.
Plea deal
As part of Stilke’s plea agreement, the aggravated burglary charge as well as charges from another case have been dismissed. He cannot have contact with any of the codefendants and must testify against them, according to court records.
Two others who were involved in the home invasion have already entered a plea as well.
Javon Demonte Fields and Jadon Malone, both also originally charged with first-degree murder and especially aggravated burglary, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in 2020.
They were both also sentenced to 15 years with TDOC each, and the charges of aggravated burglary were dismissed as well.
Cases of the two remaining codefendants, Victoria Powell and Corban Mines, are still working their way through the court system.