Prosecutors in Phoenix have offered a plea deal to an
8-year-old boy charged with murder in the shooting deaths of
his father and another man in their St. Johns home, court
records show.
Complete details of the offer weren't spelled out in a court
filing posted on the Apache County Superior Court's web site
on Saturday.
But Apache County Attorney Chriss Candelaria wrote that he
has "tendered a plea offer to the juvenile's attorneys that
would resolve all the charges in the juvenile court
contingent on the results of the mental health evaluations."
Candelaria was responding to a defense motion seeking to
block him from dropping one of two first-degree murder
charges the boy is facing for the shooting deaths of his
father, Vincent Romero, 29, and Timothy Romans, 39, earlier
this month.
Defense attorney Benjamin Brewer argued in a November 25
filing that prosecutors wanted the charge dismissed so they
could refile it when the boy was older and press the case in
adult court.
Brewer said the deal would resolve the case without it being
transferred to adult court, although he declined to provide
additional details. Although he is considering the offer,
Brewer said he is unsure of his client's ability to
understand the proceedings. At least two mental health
evaluations are yet to be completed.
"It is going to be difficult to assess what (the boy) can or
cannot enter into," Brewer said on Saturday. "But certainly
we're looking at it." In Arizona, those convicted as
juveniles can only be held until they turn 18. The law allows
prosecutions of juveniles age 8 and above as adults.
The prosecutor explained in his response to Brewer's
opposition filing that he wasn't trying to obtain an unfair
advantage, but pressed for the dismissal because the judicial
system just isn't equipped to deal with an 8-year-old charged
with murder.
Police in the small eastern Arizona town of St. Johns found
Romero and Romans shot to death after the boy ran to a
neighbour's house on the afternoon of November 5. He was
questioned after Romans' wife raised suspicions about him the
next day, and in a videotape released by prosecutors he
admits pulling the trigger. Romans worked with Romero and
rented a room in his home.
Each man was shot several times with a single-shot,
bolt-action .22-caliber rifle.
His grandmother told police that if any 8-year-old was
capable of the crimes, it was him. Police reports say the boy
told a state Child Protective Services worker that his 1000th
spanking would be his last.
The boy is being held in a county juvenile facility, although
he was allowed a 48-hour furlough to spend Thursday's
Thanksgiving holiday with his mother.
Brewer said he is now back in custody. The next court hearing
is set for December 8.
