Daniel Keough was sentenced to 24 years and seven months in prison Monday in Lewis County Superior Court for the 2023 murder of Navjot Singh and a series of crimes committed during an attempted escape from the Lewis County Juvenile Detention Center early last year.
The outcome was of little surprise. The 18-year-old had previously accepted a plea deal on Jan. 6 — 20 days before his murder trial was scheduled to begin.
The sentence includes 36 months of community custody, along with anger management treatment and mental health evaluations. Keough must also register as a firearm offender.
The jail will calculate credit for time served.
The 30-year-old Singh, a Toledo-area gas station worker, was murdered in 2023 by Keough and Quinton Ramey during a robbery attempt. Keough was 15 at the time. Ramey was 17.
Ramey pleaded guilty to murder and robbery charges in November 2024 and was sentenced to 16 years in prison.
A third defendant, Taylor Lenihan, who was 16 at the time, pleaded guilty to robbery and firearm possession charges shortly after her arrest in May 2023.
Lenihan awaits a sentencing hearing scheduled for May 20.
Keough was initially charged as a juvenile, but had his case elevated to Lewis County Superior Court last December.
According to court documents, Keough and Ramey were suspects in an armed robbery in Florence, Oregon, that occurred just days before Singh’s murder.
During Monday’s hearing, Keough sat wearing a red and white inmate’s uniform alongside his attorney, Chris Baum. Lewis County Prosecuting Attorney Jonathan Meyer and Deputy Prosecutor Joe Bassetti sat at the table across the aisle.
About 18 people watched in the audience, all on the prosecution's side of the courtroom.
At the beginning of the hearing, Meyer requested that Baum speak about a letter that Keough had reportedly signed and addressed to Baum expressing an apparent distrust in the attorney and a desire to seek different counsel.
The letter, which appears to be dated Aug. 20, 2025 — but according to Baum was received much later — was filed in Lewis County Superior Court on Jan. 23.
Baum indicated that the letter had been dictated by Keough’s mother and was likely drafted by another person, as Keough is unable to read or write.
Baum stated that Keough had told him his mother had made him send the letter.
Judge J. Andrew Toynbee expressed satisfaction with the explanation.
Baum later called the agreement between the state and Keough’s defense “reasonable given the severity of the situation.”
Keough had previously entered In Re Barr pleas — meaning he pleaded guilty to lesser charges he did not commit in order to benefit from a plea deal — on three charges spread between the two cases: second-degree murder, second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, and first-degree escape.
Keough also pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree assault for attacking two Lewis County Juvenile Detention Center employees during his January 2025 escape attempt.
As part of the plea deal, the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office recommended a sentence of 295 months for the murder — which was at the high end of the standard sentencing range — to run concurrently with the sentence for the escape and assault case.
Sentencing ranges are calculated based on the defendant’s criminal history and the severity of the crime.
Prior to Keough’s sentencing, Lexie Brooks, a detention officer and one of the victims in Keough’s 2025 escape attempt, read a statement to the court.
Brooks described being “brutally assaulted” by Keough on the night of Jan. 15, 2025, when he repeatedly told her he was going to kill and shank her.
The most traumatic part of the incident, however, was watching Keough strike her
coworker and close friend in the head, knocking her unconscious.
Brooks said that, during the incident, she thought of Singh and his family and the pain that Keough had inflicted upon them, which made her determined to keep him from escaping.
Brooks added that Keough showed “an obvious lack of remorse” for his actions, and even bragged about the assault.
“However, I refuse to allow Daniel Keough's actions to define me or take away my purpose,” Brooks said at one point.
She later said her “love for this job has only grown, not diminished.”
No one in the audience spoke on behalf of Singh.
Toynbee said the sentencing represented a compromise, one that is “rarely satisfactory” to those involved, but indicated that finalizing the case without a trial was beneficial for everyone.
Toynbee expressed appreciation to Brooks for reading her statement and complimented her and her coworker’s bravery and “extraordinary commitment” to their job.
The judge called the crimes perpetrated by Keough “heinous” and said that Keough had proven to be an extremely dangerous individual.
When given the opportunity to speak, Keough declined to comment.
The judge then ordered the sentence.
For the murder of Singh, Toynbee sentenced Keough to a total of 295 months in prison and 36 months of community custody. For the escape attempt and related assaults, the judge sentenced Keough to a total of 43 months in prison and 18 months of community custody.
The judge entered a lifetime no-contact order on behalf of Navjot Singh’s family, along with a 10-year no-contact order protecting the assault victims.
Because the sentences run concurrently, Keough will serve a maximum of 295 months in prison.
