Man Gets Probation in Death of Salina Man
Associated Press - Tue 10:28 AM 03/13/2012
Justin Taddiken pleaded no contest to aggravated battery in Unselt's fatal beating. On Monday, he was placed on two years of supervised probation.
A defense attorney says a man who died after a confrontation with four Salina men started the fight that led to his death.
Attorney Roger Struble made that argument in a motion filed on behalf of 20-year-old Justin Taddiken in the January 2011 death of 48-year-old Robert Unselt. Taddiken pleaded no contest to aggravated battery in Unselt's fatal beating. On Monday, he was placed on two years of supervised probation.
Unselt's widow and sister disputed Struble's account of the confrontation, saying Unselt was a peacemaker.
Unselt's widow is seeking $1 million in a wrongful death lawsuit against Taddiken and three co-defendants. Two of the other men have settled their criminal cases without going to trial. Charges have been refiled against the fourth man.
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Associated Press Information from: The Salina Journal
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Freewill
Tuesday 13 March 2012 10:43 Report this comment
Good ole code blue at work! And people wonder why the citizens show little respect for them. Officer Taddiken should resign just because this looks like his son got special favors from the DA.
dmattt
Tuesday 13 March 2012 11:03 Report this comment
Slap on the wrist for the death of a human! That sounds messed up to me. I hope that the widow wins the $1M lawsuit against these characters!
twisteddan
Tuesday 13 March 2012 12:10 Report this comment
@Freewill....No it's just the Morons that hate cops. Because they don't like getting tickets or being arrested. Because they choose to break the law and think there should be no consequences. Probably should do a little research before talking out of the side of your mouth.....His dad is no longer a cop....Thanks to morons like you. Blaming cops and thinking that every Judge loves every cop......So shallow.
Iamgonnagetu
Tuesday 13 March 2012 12:14 Report this comment
I am usually very hard on law enforcement and the justice system here in Salina. But I will say this was the right verdict in this case. This Guy was drunk or on drugs and started the fight he definately was no angel like his family wishes he was even to the fact the reason he was outside because of arguing with a son. I am sure the civil lawsuit will be tossed out as well.
kparent
Tuesday 13 March 2012 12:16 Report this comment
Freewill, I often work with Law Enforcement for my job. Not only did Salina lose one of the most RESPECTED and respectful officers in John (who, by the way, no longer works there after several decades of being a GREAT officer - so way to look like a jackwagon), it is flat out ridiculous to think that the DA (in addition, we have a County Attorney, which is different than a District Attorney... Being smart-2, being you- 0) would do anyone a "favor."
twisteddan
Tuesday 13 March 2012 12:21 Report this comment
@kparent....You are exactly right. John is also a great friend and a cool guy to hang out with. I never knew his son...But, as far as as John goes...IMO.....He was one of the best cops in Salina.
kparent
Tuesday 13 March 2012 12:38 Report this comment
Just so I can keep up on our points, Freewill, our own CA office did not prosecute the case. The Attorney General's office did, for the simple fact that John was an officer at the time. John, his wife, and their kids are great people. I remember 20 (and often cringe) at the simply careless, impulsive things I did. Unfortunately, these boys will have to live with that the rest of their lives. Knowing Justin (I don't know the other boys), I know that he does not take any of this lightly.
GETALIFE674
Tuesday 13 March 2012 12:55 Report this comment
I knew from day one this would be the outcome. This Unselt guy was asking for trouble trying to start a fight with a bunch of guys walking down the street. As has been pointed out he had a drinking problem and possibly a drug problem and if his family cared enought about him they should have sought treatment for him before something like this happened. To file a million dollar lawsuit is wrong since he was the aggressor so that will probably go no where. To bad he had to die but if it did not happen here it would of somewhere else.
YATHINK
Tuesday 13 March 2012 14:15 Report this comment
Give me a break this is pathetic....had this boy not been a cops kid or of another race he would have been under the jail. Same ole story in good ole salina.
stevesure401
Tuesday 13 March 2012 14:41 Report this comment
They prosecutor has the job of presenting evidence to a jury. They hope the jury will convict. Without a reasonable doubt. Pretty tall order to fill. so instead of the chance of a acquittal they reached a plea agreement. Justin had no prior record and now he has been convicted of a felony. Taking a life is murder. whether they intended to kill him or not. So I hope they have fun on Community Corrections.
stirthepot
Tuesday 13 March 2012 14:52 Report this comment
I am sorry if you kill someone then you should do some time. There were 4 young men there why didn't they just restrain the man and call the police or were they doing something else that they did not want the police there. I think the wife should get the 1 million dollars. The boys had other choices.
pops67401
Tuesday 13 March 2012 16:07 Report this comment
your all ridiculous. So what if the guy was a loud mouth? that gave FOUR guys the right to beat him to death? Including one that is supposedly an MMA fighter...really? I hope Kharma has a great plan for these for POS
annonomys
Tuesday 13 March 2012 19:19 Report this comment
This is pretty sad someone who kills an individual gets off with probation no jail time and i have a friend that is lookin at life in prison for some stupid s!@t that was lied about. Wow our judicial system is great. Let a murderer walk free and an inocent man spend the rest of his life in prison. Somethings wrong here.
amazing.
Tuesday 13 March 2012 19:43 Report this comment
drunk, drugged or mean, that kid should of stopped before he DIED! its one thing to beat someone up badly, but kill! unbelieveable!
WhoCares
Tuesday 13 March 2012 23:40 Report this comment
In other news, 8 year old boy gets 15 year prison sentence for stealing a candy bar from Dillons.... Now, back to our regular scheduled program, "Why killers walk free..."
getumgranny
Wednesday 14 March 2012 07:19 Report this comment
This case is a tough one!! I have in my years encountered many smart mouth young folks that I would have loved to smack the hell out of them, but I didn't!! I do not know the Unselt family, nor do I know any of the kids involved, but, as a citizen, this puzzles me. There were so many other options that night they ALL could have taken. Mr. Unselt SHOULD have called the law if these boys were doing something wrong. These boys SHOULD have called the law if they were doing nothing wrong and were being attacked by him. I'm sorry for the families involved, and the loss of life, it's unfortunate we cannot turn back the clock because I suspect EVERYONE that was involved in this would have done something different if they knew this would be the outcome!!
getumgranny
Wednesday 14 March 2012 07:23 Report this comment
I do think some jail time for the loss of life was in order, but, we do not have all the information, I'm certain there is MUCH more to this than we all know, and they are releasing to the public. As for the wrongful death suit, the fact that he put himself in harms way and chose to take a situation into his own hands could hurt their argument, as I said, if he would have called the police and let them handle it, we would not be having this discussion!!
GETALIFE674
Wednesday 14 March 2012 08:44 Report this comment
How stupid are you people saying they killed this guy? They did not leave him dead laying in the street. He was in some altercation prior to all of this and his son he followed out of the house decked him in his driveway to begin with. So who is to say which altercation he was involved with caused his death. This is not some innocent guy that got attacted he did the attacking and he was so doped up he throught he could take on 4 guys. He was the first one to throw a punch and even after he was knocked down he came back after them again. His family especially his wife seems so concerned but where were they when all of this was taking place?
THEENFORCER
Thursday 15 March 2012 09:14 Report this comment
DMATT HOW DO YOU KNOW IT WAS THESE GUYS THAT KILLED HIM? YOU ARE ASSUMING SUCH BUT THERE IS NO PROOF OF IT. FREEWILL THERE IS NO CODE BLUE AT WORK JUST A JUNKIE ALCOHOLIC THAT CONTINUALY GOT INTO FIGHTS AND PAID THE PRICE BUT EVIDENTLY NOT FROM THESE GUYS.
THEENFORCER
Thursday 15 March 2012 09:18 Report this comment
NOW HIS WIFE SEE'S A SHOT OF FREE MONEY AND FILES A LAWSUIT. WHERE WAS SHE THE NIGHT THIS HAPPENED. SHE KNEW WHAT WAS TAKING PLACE AND ALSO THAT HER HUSBAND WAS HIGH. WHEN HE CHASED HER SON OUT OF THE HOUSE SHE SHOULD HAVE DONE SOMETHING. SHE COULD HAVE CALLED THE POLICE WHEN THIS ALL STARTED WHAT WAS SHE AFRAID THEY WOULD FIND? SHE IS AT FAULT AS MUCH AS ANYONE FOR DOING NOTHING.
MUMBLER
Tuesday 27 March 2012 13:19 Report this comment
GETALIFE674:--Wow!-- I didn't know were there, Oh wait, you WEREN'T!! So shut your ignorant mouth. Actually they literally left him lying on the ground to die. He went outside after his son went outside.. not "after his son" they had a slight verbal disagreement (as all families do) not a physical altercation as you ignorantly state. He also wasn't "doped up" He had some alcohol, in the home of his family, as many people do often. He went outside, on his families street to check for his son, that's when he was attacked. Wife came outside as stated in all the reports.. You people saying "they should have called the police.." Right, like the wife did!! Within seconds of the attack..
MUMBLER
Tuesday 27 March 2012 13:19 Report this comment
How does anyone see this any different?!?!!? Those 4 grow boys had no reason to be there, no reason to carry on with him. they could have just walked by.. and even within a physical altercation, Don't try to convince me 1 older man over powered 4 sober teens, 1 being a trained fighter. - The fact that the judge even heard the BS testimonies like this is absurd! If they were innocently walking down HIS street at 2am & attacked by a drunken doped up super powerful man.. why run, hide & lie about the details?? hmmm.. why not report it? They didn't called the police..The Guilty never do. They only gave statements for pleas.. If they were innocently walking down HIS street at 2am & attacked by a drunken doped up super powerful man.. why run, hide & lie about the details?? hmmm.. why not report it? They didn't called the police..The Guilty never do. They only gave statements for pleas..
MUMBLER
Tuesday 27 March 2012 13:52 Report this comment
KPARENT: "Unfortunately, these boys will have to live with that the rest of their lives." - Must be nice to have the rest of their lives to live with it, unlike Robert! "Knowing Justin (I don't know the other boys), I know that he does not take any of this lightly." - neither did Robert, he paid for Justin's (and his friends)choices with his LIFE!