Boy, nine, pleads guilty over shootings
A nine-year-old boy accused of methodically shooting dead his father and his father’s roommate pleaded guilty to negligent homicide.
Under a plea agreement, he pleaded guilty in the death of the roommate and two charges of premeditated murder for both deaths were dropped.
Police said the boy used a .22-calibre rifle to shoot the men as they returned home from work on November 5 last year.
The boy’s plea spares the rural community of St John’s in Arizona of about 4,000 from what would have been an emotional trial and prevents the boy from serving time in the state juvenile corrections system or being tried as an adult.
The boy has not yet been sentenced. He could be sent to the county juvenile system, which would keep him close to his relatives.
Apache County Attorney Michael Whiting wants the boy to undergo extensive mental evaluations and treatment, an option allowed by the plea agreement.
“It’s a compromise – no one is really pleased,” defence lawyer Benjamin Brewer said after the hearing.
The boy’s mother objected to the plea deal, but Superior Court Judge Michael Roca accepted it.
The boy was just eight when he was accused of shooting his 29-year-old father, Vincent Romero, and 39-year-old Timothy Romans, who rented a room from Mr Romero.
Police in St Johns found Mr Romero and Mr Romans dead after the boy ran to a neighbour’s house.
The boy was questioned after Romans’s wife raised suspicions, and in a videotape released by prosecutors, he admitted pulling the trigger.
Police reports say the boy told a state Child Protective Services worker that his 1,000th spanking would be his last.
Prosecutors and defence lawyers struggled with what to do with a child who was charged with murder while he was so young.
Talk of a plea deal emerged less than a month after the shootings, but Mr Brewer said at the time that he was unsure of his client’s ability to understand the proceedings.
The boy was freed on bail and is due back in court for a pre-sentencing hearing on March 5.
