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[FDInLaw]

Dimissal of murder charge against boy, 9, sought

ST. JOHNS, Ariz. (AP) - An Apache County judge is expected to consider whether to dismiss 1 of 2 murder charges against a 9-year-old boy at a Thursday court hearing.

The boy faces two counts of premeditated murder in the Nov. 5 shootings of his father and another man at the boy's home in St. Johns. Prosecutors want Superior Court Judge Michael Roca to drop the charge stemming from the death of the boy's father, 29-year-old Vincent Romero.

If Roca grants the motion, it would allow prosecutors to refile the charge when the boy is older and try him as an adult.


http://www.kold.com/Global/story.asp?S=9752495

[FDInLaw]

. . .
The looming question of whether the boy is fit to stand trial might soon be answered.

Experts nominated by the defense and prosecutors are scheduled to testify Feb. 6 during a hearing that will last much of the day. One expert has already indicated the boy is incompetent in part because of his age and intelligence level.

Roca would decide the matter based on the testimony from the experts.

The boy was 8 years old when the shootings happened on Nov. 5 in the eastern Arizona community of St. Johns. Police have said the boy used a .22-caliber rifle to shoot Romero and Romans as they returned home from work.

In a police interview, the boy admits to firing two shots at each of the men.

Defense attorneys have asked Roca to throw out the so-called confession and a search warrant. Prosecutors agreed not to use any statements the boy made to police in the hourlong interview unless the boy takes the stand in his own defense and contradicts them.

Roca has held off on ruling on the defense motions pending the results of the competency examinations. The appeals court decision gives him a green light to rule on those motions as well.


http://www.kpho.com/news/18593800/detail.html

[FDInLaw]

http://www.azfamily.com/video/localnews-index.html?nvid=326550

[FDInLaw]

ST. JOHNS, Ariz. -- A judge postponed a hearing to determine whether to dismiss one of two murder charges against a 9-year-old boy from St. Johns.

Two hearings were scheduled in the case Thursday, one which was behind closed doors and another that was open to the public. After the closed-door hearing was completed, the second hearing was postponed.

The boy's legal team said the postponement was in the best interest of their client, but declined to elaborate on why the hearing was reset for Feb. 5.

The looming question of whether the boy is fit to stand trial might soon be answered.

Experts nominated by the defense and prosecutors are scheduled to testify Feb. 6 during a hearing that will last much of the day. One expert has already indicated the boy is incompetent in part because of his age and intelligence level.

Roca would decide the matter based on the testimony from the experts.

>snip<

Defense attorneys have asked Roca to throw out the so-called confession and a search warrant. Prosecutors agreed not to use any statements the boy made to police in the hourlong interview unless the boy takes the stand in his own defense and contradicts them.

Roca has held off on ruling on the defense motions pending the results of the competency examinations. The appeals court decision gives him a green light to rule on those motions as well.http://www.kpho.com/news/18593800/detail.html

[FDInLaw]

...
Prosecutors have asked Roca to drop the charge stemming from Romero's death.

They have argued that if the boy is found incompetent and the case is dismissed, the victims would see no justice and the boy wouldn't get the treatment he needs.

If Roca grants the motion, it would allow prosecutors to refile the charge when the boy is older and try him as an adult.

Defense attorneys have objected to either charge being dismissed unless they're thrown out in such a way that they couldn't be refiled.

An expert nominated by the defense already has indicated the boy is incompetent to stand trial.

An expert nominated by prosecutors has submitted his report to the court, but the results are under seal.

Defense attorney Ron Wood said he would like nothing more than for the boy to be exonerated and be able to return to school, where he was a third-grader, and to his family.

The boy has been in juvenile detention since his arrest the day after the shootings.

"I want him to go back to being the boy he was before November," Wood said.



http://www.kpho.com/news/18593800/detail.html

[FDInLaw]

Sources familiar with the case involving a 9-year-old boy accused of killing his father and another man said the boy was released into the custody of his mother after a hearing Thursday morning.

The two sources who asked not to be named were unsure how long the St. Johns boy would be free.

ABC15 has been unable to confirm what, if any, conditions were placed on the boy or his mother as part of the release.

John Adreas, spokesperson for the family of murder victim Tim Romans said, "It's not really a surprise, but we're stunned."

The boy was granted temporary releases during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, but has been held in detention otherwise.

Two hearings were scheduled this morning in Apache County. The first happened behind closed doors.

In the second, the judge has expected to hear arguments whether to dismiss one of two murder charges against a 9-year-old boy. That hearing was continued until next week.

>snip<

Defense Attorney Ronald Wood is asking the judge to drop both charges against the boy without prejudice, which means the charges could not be filed again at a later date.

Roca had said he wouldn't rule on the motion until the boy's competency is determined. The state Court of Appeals said last week that nothing precludes Roca from doing so.

That competency hearing is scheduled two weeks from now. The competency hearing would determine if the boy can understand the charges against him and contribute to his own defense.

Legal experts said prosecutors are anxious to see one charge against the boy dropped before the competency hearing so that if the boy is determined incompetent to stand trial at this time, the dropped charge could be refiled when the boy is older and able to understand the charges against him.

http://www.abc15.com/content/news/northernarizona/story/Source-AZ-boy-accused-of-killing-2-released-from/cKqMn0YiDU260fjGKMLrYg.cspx

[FDInLaw]

News Video:

http://www.azfamily.com/video/localnews-index.html?nvid=326794

[Its just me]

crime scene photos

http://www.azfamily.com/perl/common/slideshow/sspop.pl?recid=12959&location=www.azfamily.com

http://www.abc15.com/Photo.aspx?slideshow=a02b70a1-990e-43ba-8dd8-69e6acf5a4e0&photo=fb6aef35-39d0-4ac4-ac7a-3d26afffa8a9

[Its just me]

go to bottom of page to watch updated video

http://www.abc15.com/content/news/northernarizona/story/Source-AZ-boy-accused-of-killing-2-released-from/cKqMn0YiDU260fjGKMLrYg.cspx?p=Comments

[FDInLaw]

Interview with friend of Timothy Romans;

http://multimedia.boston.com/pub/m/21814761/9_year_old_accused_killer_released_for_a_week.htm? pageid=14155&seek=77.399

[FDInLaw]

(NECN/KNXV) - The boy accused of killing his father, Vincent Romero, and Tim Romans, will be released to his mother for a week. This is the third time a judge has released him from detention.

"Somebody from the Juvenile facility called Tanya, and said hey we'd thought we'd let you know that the boy is out he's furloughed for one week, and she's in tears," John Andreas said. Tanya is the wife of shooting victim Tim Romans.

"No closure, no closure at all," Andreas said.

Andreas feels that every time the boy is allowed to go home, that he is being allowed to dodge the consequences of the alleged shootings.

"It's double homicide. This isn't stealing a candy bar from a grocery store," Andreas said.

Next week the judge is expected to rule on the prosecution's request to drop one of the murder charges. But the competency hearing to determine if the boy understands the charges against him will not happen until February 13th.

In the meantime, the child's defense attorney, Ron Wood, articulated his hopes for the boy's future.

"I want to see my client exonerated; . . .



http://www.necn.com/Boston/Nation/2009/01/30/Accused-killer-9-freed-for/1233329949.html

[FDInLaw]

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — What do you do with an 8-year-old boy charged with two counts of premeditated murder?

Prosecutors and a defense lawyer in rural eastern Arizona are struggling to come up with an answer in the shocking case of a child accused of shooting his father and his father's friend early last month. Outside experts fascinated with the case are just as perplexed.


Although Arizona law allows 8-year-olds to be found delinquent and to be charged as adults, experts say children at that age are far from fully formed mentally and most don't understand the finality of death and the consequences of murder.


"Almost by definition, whatever they do has to be tailored to meet his specific individual needs, and it's not like 'Oh, we've got just the program for this young man. We'll send him here or we'll send him there.' That's not going to work," said Charles Ewing, a psychologist and law professor at the University at Buffalo Law School.


Prosecutors in the case in the small community of St. Johns are conflicted. They say in court documents that the juvenile system is ill-equipped to handle the third-grade boy.


It's not their desire, they say, to "persecute" a child who may not fit the description of normal. But they also say a balance must be struck between rehabilitation and justice for the victims while considering the boy's "tender age."


Police say the boy planned and methodically carried out the shootings, using a .22-caliber rifle when his father, 29-year-old Vincent Romero, and 39-year-old Tim Romans returned home from work on Nov. 5.


In a police interview, the boy admitted firing at least two shots at each of the men, but the child's attorney has questioned the admissibility of the confession because no lawyer or parent was present.


The boy also told police in the interview that his stepmother had spanked him five times the night before the shootings because he did not bring home some papers from school. According to documents later released by prosecutors, the boy kept a tally of spankings, vowing the 1,000th would be his last.


Judge Michael Roca recently ordered all proceedings stayed until competency evaluations of the boy are complete; a state expert is expected to evaluate the boy on Dec. 17. Lingering issues include a prosecution motion to drop one of the murder charges against the boy.


Prosecutors also have offered a plea deal. Defense attorney Benjamin Brewer has said he's considering the offer, which would resolve the case without transferring it to adult court.


Apache County Attorney Criss Candelaria wrote in a court filing that the deal would resolve all the charges but neither he nor Brewer will discuss details of the offer. Attorneys in the case are bound by a gag order that often prevents them from commenting on filings or developments.


The case has tugged at the hearts of people across the country, who look at their own children and question how an 8-year-old could possibly have been responsible for such a crime.


"It is not a crime in the traditional way we define a crime," says Marsha Levick, legal director of the Juvenile Law Center in Philadelphia, "because he simply lacks the intent to commit a crime."


While many states would allow the boy to be held accountable and even tried as an adult, Levick said that doesn't mean an 8-year-old should be thrust into the criminal justice system.


"I think there should be great doubt in the public's mind of whether this child is even guilty of the crime," she said. "Even if he in fact pulled the trigger, treating him as an adult, holding him responsible in the same way we hold adults responsible is completely inappropriate."


No child 8 years old or younger committed homicide in the United States during 2005-2007, according to FBI statistics. . .





http://www.freep.com/article/20081213/NEWS07/81213035

[FDInLaw]

ST. JOHNS, Ariz. — A week after the police charged an 8-year-old boy in the premeditated shooting deaths of his father and another man, the boy’s mother, teachers and others who know him say they are no closer to understanding the roots of such a heinous crime.


Click to enlarge
Vincent Romero’s funeral at St. Johns Catholic Church on Monday in St. Johns, Ariz.
Dana Felthauser/Associated Press
“I don’t believe he did this,” said the mother, Erin Bloomfield, 26, who has shared custody of her son with his father, Vincent Romero, 29, since the couple divorced six years ago. She said she talked to the boy every week and visited an average of once a month, driving the 20 hours to St. Johns from her home in Mississippi.

Ms. Bloomfield had just returned from her latest visit when she got a call about the shooting and immediately returned to St. Johns, a windy hamlet of horse ranches, low-slung houses and double-wide trailers about 170 miles east-northeast of Phoenix. The largest buildings are a few churches and schools along the single main road, which has no stoplights.

“People like their independence and freedom here,” said Wendy Guffey, 60, a substance abuse counselor at a local health clinic. “It’s sort of the redneck ethic. A lot of people haul their own water and live off generators and candles out here. Back to the land.”

Many of her clients struggle with unemployment, drugs and tedium. “A lot of people around here say there’s nothing to do,” Ms. Guffey said.

Ms. Bloomfield described her son as a “normal boy” who played video games nonstop and doted on his new dog, a boxer. But in recent months, she said, he “seemed to be changing.”

“There was a distance with me after a while,” she said.

Whenever she spoke with her son, Ms. Bloomfield said, “I had to go through Tiffany,” a reference to his stepmother, Tiffany Romero. “Tiffany would always sit there while he talked to me on the phone, and after a while, he became more and more distant.”

She worried, she said, that the boy might be being abused although she had no proof.

Before Judge Michael P. Roca of Apache County Superior Court blocked anyone connected to the case from talking to the news media, Police Chief Roy Melnick of St. Johns said there was no evidence that the boy had been abused at home or in school.

A person answering the door at the Romero home on Tuesday said Tiffany Romero would not discuss the case because of Judge Roca’s order.

Ms. Bloomfield said that after her son told her that his father and stepmother quarreled often, “I called Tiffany about that, and I think I got my son into trouble.”

“The next time I talked to him about it,” she added, “he said that Tiffany told him that ‘what happens in this house stays in this house.’ ”

Ms. Bloomfield also said that her son was close to his father, and that the two regularly played softball and basketball, and went hiking and hunting together, sometimes joined by the other man who was killed, Timothy Romans, 39. Mr. Romans worked in construction with Mr. Romero and rented a room in the family house.

Ms. Bloomfield confirmed that after first seeking permission from their parish priest, her ex-husband recently bought their son a .22 rifle for hunting, a common pastime of young boys and their fathers in this town of about 4,000 people.

The boy “took his religious faith very seriously,” said Sister Angelina Chavez, who has known him since he was a baby and taught his religious class every Monday at St. Johns Catholic Church. It is the church where the Romeros were married in September, and where hundreds of townspeople turned out for Mr. Romero’s funeral on Monday. “I just don’t know what happened to him spiritually, emotionally,” she said.

“This is going to take a while to get over,” Sister Angelina said. “Parishioners have come to me asking why it happened. I just don’t know.”

Ms. Bloomfield expressed disgust at rumors sweeping the town, among them that her son killed his father because he had not been allowed to go trick-or-treating on Halloween. “This town is too small,” she said. “Everybody thinks they know what happened. They’re saying all kinds of things about my son. They have smashed him down to nothing.”

Chief Melnick has said only that the boy unexpectedly confessed to the killings during the second of two interviews on Nov. 5. Neither a lawyer nor a family member was present either time, the chief said, because the boy was being questioned as a witness, not a suspect.

Prosecutors charged the boy as an adult, and Ms. Bloomfield said she was terrified they would also attempt to try him as one. The boy is scheduled to undergo three psychological examinations in the coming weeks to determine whether that is possible.

A Phoenix defense lawyer, Karyn Klausner, who is a former municipal judge, said that for the boy to be tried as an adult, the tests must show that he is competent to understand the charges against him, has a basic understanding of the court process and is able to assist in his defense. In addition, prosecutors must prove that he cannot be rehabilitated by the time he turns 18 and leaves the juvenile justice system.

Ms. Klausner said she was appalled that the authorities were considering such an option. “There’s no way on God’s green earth that an 8-year-old should be subject to the adult system,” she said.

Prosecutors also have what Ms. Klausner called the unlikely option of deciding that the boy is incompetent to stand trial, detaining him in a psychiatric facility until he is deemed competent, and then trying him as an adult.

In a separate case, a county judge in Bisbee, Ariz., on Monday denied a motion to try as an adult a 12-year-old boy accused of killing his mother. In that case, court mental health evaluators determined that the boy could be rehabilitated by the time he turned 18.

The sight of her young son being led into court in shackles on Monday was especially upsetting, Ms. Bloomfield said. His hands were bound to a security belt that had to be looped around his waist three times because of his small frame. The judge ordered the restraints removed.

“I blew some kisses at him and told him to put some in his pocket for later,” the mother said. “Later he told me he needed more kisses to put in his pocket.”

>snip<

Two of the boy’s friends, Lucas Graf, 12, and Jude Chavez, 11, said they, too, were baffled as to how someone with whom they wrestled and swam in the scorching summer just past could have committed such a brutal act.

“He’s a nice kid,” Lucas said. “He’s normal.”



http://www.gainesville.com/article/20081113/ZNYT02/811133008/1002/NEWS?Title=Mother_Baffled_in_Arizona_Murders

[FDInLaw]

"A children's law expert talks about her concerns with how the case is being handled against an 8-year-old Arizona boy accused of killing his father. The boy may be tried as an adult. (Nov. 20) "


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1DWo5rWi2E&feature=channel

[FDInLaw]

UPDATE FEB. 4:

ST. JOHNS -- A hearing to determine whether to dismiss one of two murder charges against a 9-year-old St. Johns boy has been postponed for a second time.

Defense attorney Benjamin Brewer says some "behind-the-scenes" wrangling forced the hearing to be rescheduled for Feb. 12, a week later than the previous date set. Brewer declined to elaborate.

Prosecutors have asked Apache County Superior Court Judge Michael Roca to dismiss the murder charge stemming from the death of the boy's father. They fear if the boy is found incompetent and the case is dismissed, the victims never will see justice and the boy won't get the treatment he needs.

Defense attorneys have objected to either charge being dismissed unless they're thrown out in such a way that they couldn't be refiled.


http://www.azfamily.com/news/local/stories/st-johns-local-news-012909-dismiss-charge.152cf589.html

[FDInLaw]

It will be at least one more week before a Judge in St. Johns will rule on whether a 9-year-old boy charged with killing two people, including his father, will be allowed to stay at home with his biological mother.

Also delayed is a ruling on whether prosecutors can drop one of the murder charges.

That’s because on Wednesday, Apache County Superior Court confirmed that the hearing set for Thursday has been pushed back to February 12 at 4 p.m.

Last week ABC15’s Christina Boomer was first to report that the child was released from a juvenile detention center and put in the custody of his mother.

The court confirmed the boy would remain furloughed until February 12.

One of his defense attorneys, Ben Brewer, told ABC15’s Christina Boomer, “We're not as concerned about time as long as our client is out of custody."

Also on Wednesday, the court filed a document that shows a Juvenile Detention Center employee has been issued a subpoena “to give testimony on behalf of the defendant" at the next hearing.

During the next status hearing Judge Michael Roca is expected to rule on the prosecution’s request to drop one of the murder charges.

The State first filed that motion on November 21, 2008.

The motion is an attempt to drop count one which is the murder charge that relates to the boy’s father.

>snip<

During several hearings, the State has tried to discuss its motion to drop one of the murder charges.

Judge Michael Roca had initially stated he did not want to discuss such a substantive issue until the boy’s competency had been established.

Competency relates to whether the child understands the judicial process, if he understands the charges against him, and determines if he can contribute to his own defense.

The Defense’s expert found the boy to be incompetence and not able to be restored to competency in the time allotted by law.

It is still unknown what the prosecution’s competency expert determined.

The State did not agree with Judge Roca’s decision to delay discussing the motion to dismiss and took the issue up to the Court of Appeals.

The Court of Appeals ruled that Judge Roca could make a ruling on the motion to dismiss before the child’s competency hearing.

That ruling prompted the motion to dismiss to be set on the agenda for a status hearing set on January 29.

But on the 29th the Judge stated the issue would be continued to February 5.

On February 4th the court said it would be delayed once again until February 12.

Meantime, the competency hearing that was scheduled for February 6, which had been pushed back to February 13, has been vacated. A new date has yet to be set.


http://www.abc15.com/content/news/northernarizona/story/St-Johns-boy-accused-of-2-murders-still-at-home/8qVuIvugf0aQYi0LsIf1ZA.cspx

[tr7fan]

http://www.azcentral.com/video/?type=mavenfull&id=videopage&videoID=1025059515

[FDInLaw]

http://www.kpho.com/video/index.html

[Its just me]

http://www.abc15.com/content/news/northernarizona/story/St-Johns-murder-reports-released-new-info-about/fOVJy2sP1kCOthT-AEZCsQ.cspx

[Its just me]

Vincent Romero Autopsy

http://www.november2008stjohnsdouble...eroautopsy.pdf (http://www.november2008stjohnsdoublehomicide.com/applications/DocumentLibraryManager/upload/romeroautopsy.pdf)

Tim Romans Autopsy

http://www.november2008stjohnsdouble...ansautopsy.pdf (http://www.november2008stjohnsdoublehomicide.com/applications/DocumentLibraryManager/upload/romansautopsy.pdf)

[Its just me]

http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/109706.php (http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/109706.php)

[FDInLaw]

Relatives of a 9-year-old St. Johns boy charged in the deaths of his father and another man told investigators the boy had threatened his father before the shootings, according to documents released by Apache County prosecutors.

Police contend the boy used a .22-caliber rifle to shoot his father, 29-year-old Vincent Romero, and 39-year-old Timothy Romans, as the two men returned home from work on Nov. 5. The boy faces two counts of premeditated murder. The documents, which outline interviews done by state Department of Public Safety officials, provide few details of the talks with neighbors, classmates, relatives and friends of the boy and his family.

Many of the people interviewed said they were surprised to learn the boy, who they described as typical, very respectful, smart and polite, was accused of the crimes. Neighbors and some of the boy's relatives said they never saw him display any violent or odd behavior.

Others said the boy was aggressive at times, arrogant, manipulative and a "bully" but that he wasn't temperamental. At least two relatives told investigators the boy had threatened his father. One of Romero's cousins, Justin Romero, said he "did not put it beyond" the boy that he could have committed the crimes, given his ability to handle a gun.

Stevie Romero, another of Romero's cousins, said that during a family reunion in August, the boy had threatened to either shoot or kill his dad, but that the statement was made out of anger, according to documents.

"How dare you say that?" the cousin quoted Vincent Romero as saying as the boy ran off.

Stevie Romero said he never had seen the boy act that way before.

One of Romero's uncles told investigators he also heard the boy make threatening remarks about his father. Paul Romero said he overheard the boy during a recent hunting trip say, "One day I'm going to kill him."

Paul Romero said his nephew was upset with the boy for an unknown reason and responded by slapping him. The documents don't say when the hunting trip took place.

Defense attorney Benjamin Brewer said Monday that he hasn't had a chance to interview the relatives, but any physical evidence would be more telling than statements from people whose credibility hasn't been determined.

"None of these people came forward before this event and said anything. It was always after the fact," Brewer said. "I think the majority of people have picked their side. They could very easily tend to remember facts or embellish statements that may not be as powerful as they seem." . . .




http://www.azdailysun.com/articles/2009/02/10/news/state/20090210_arizo_190654.txt

[FDInLaw]

PHOENIX, Ariz. -- There are new developments in the case of a boy accused of killing his father and another man in St. Johns late last year.

Defense attorneys for the boy tell ABC15 the case could be settled by next week.

Sources close to the investigation confirm that a change of plea hearing has been scheduled for next Thursday.

Attorney Tim Eckstein who is not associated with this case said a change of plea hearing is usually scheduled when the court believes a plea deal is likely.

The 9-year-old boy in Saint Johns has been scheduled Thursday to learn if he will remain at home with his biological mother, or be placed back in a Juvenile Detention Center.

ABC15 has learned the boy will remain with his mother, despite the fact that today's hearing was canceled.

The Apache County Attorney is not commenting on a possible plea deal at this time but is expected to speak to the media following next week's plea hearing.

http://www.abc15.com/content/news/northernarizona/story/Boy-murder-suspect-case-may-end-with-St-Johns/sA8eJm-M0EG2HEsJmNmCsA.cspx

[FDInLaw]

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Defense attorneys for a 9-year-old St. Johns boy charged in the deaths of his father and another man were in a tight spot.

Prosecutors had asked a judge to drop a murder charge against the boy that, if granted, would have allowed him to be tried as an adult in the future. It was a risk defense attorneys didn't want to take, along with the chance of an unfavorable outcome at trial.

Over the past month, attorneys on both sides worked out a plea deal that defense attorney Benjamin Brewer said could resolve the case by next week and would spare his client any time in the state juvenile corrections system. Brewer said Friday the boy could still serve some time in a county facility.

"Sure, we could have went to trial and potentially won, but that's a heck of the roll of the dice," Brewer said.

A change of plea hearing is scheduled for Feb. 19, but Brewer said his client must still accept the deal. Brewer declined to offer specifics.

"We believe this agreement addresses any potential needs out there as well as secures he does not get messed up going to juvenile corrections, or adult prison," he said.

Prosecutors could not be reached for comment. . .





http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/DN-childcharged_14tex.ART.State.Edition1.4c0a8e4.html

[Its just me]

http://ktar.com/?nid=6&sid=1085114&r=1 (http://ktar.com/?nid=6&sid=1085114&r=1)

[FDInLaw]

February 20, 2009 NEWS RELEASE
APACHE COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT
Juvenile Enters Admission
ST. JOHNS – At a February 19, 2009 hearing, the juvenile entered an admission to an Amended Count II of Negligent Homicide. Count I of the November 7, 2008 Delinquency Petition will be dismissed. The State may withdraw from the agreement prior to disposition if the juvenile is charged with any additional delinquent or incorrigible offenses.
The juvenile will be placed on Intensive Probation with the court retaining jurisdiction until the juvenile’s eighteenth birthday. While under the court’s jurisdiction, he shall have no contact with the victims, their immediate or extended families, unless requested by such persons and approved by the court. He shall not be permitted to enroll in any public, private or charter school until the court receives written notice from the evaluating psychiatrist that the juvenile does not pose a threat to himself or the public. In the interim, the Apache County Juvenile Probation Department has been asked to confer with the local school district to determine alternate education services.
Disposition will be set following evaluation of the juvenile by two board certified psychiatrists. The examiners will be to asked to evaluate future dangerousness; make recommendations regarding any changes to the terms and conditions of probation and as to the type, duration and frequency of any mental health services. Additional mental health evaluations shall be completed when the juvenile is 12, 15 and 17.5 years of age.
The juvenile remains on furlough with the terms and conditions of the plea agreement added to those already in place. Following disposition, the juvenile may request transfer of his probation to another county or state. The court would consider the request at hearing after providing the State, defense and victims an opportunity to recommend changes to the terms and conditions of probation.
In accepting the juvenile’s admission, Judge Michael P. Roca found that the pendency of a competency determination did not preclude the court from entertaining a plea. The case has been set for a March 5th Status Conference to identify the board certified mental health examiners. Disposition of the case is expected to take place within sixty days.
#####


http://apps.supremecourt.az.gov/docs/Cases/Press%20Releases/JV2008065%20PRESS%20RELEASE%20February%2020,%20200 9.pdf

[Its just me]

http://www.abc15.com/mediacenter/local.aspx?videoid=19706@knxv.dayport.com

[samanthajane13]

End to Ariz. boy's homicide case relieves town
By FELICIA FONSECA, Associated Press Writer Felicia Fonseca, Associated Press Writer – Sat Feb 21, 7:49 am ET



ST. JOHNS, Ariz. – Residents of this tight-knit Arizona community say the time has come to try to forget.

Forget the months of television camera crews and reporters that had become an all-too-common presence.

And time to somehow put behind them the nerve-rattling double homicide case against a 9-year-old boy whom authorities accuse in the fatal shootings of his father and another man.

"I think we'd all just like to get on with our lives and forget all about it," said Christine Moulton, 54, who has lived in St. Johns for nearly 30 years.

The boy faced two counts of premeditated murder in the Nov. 5 deaths of his father, 29-year-old Vincent Romero, and 39-year-old Timothy Romans, who rented a room in the family's home.

In a deal with prosecutors, the boy, over the objections of his mother, pleaded guilty Thursday to negligent homicide in Romans' death and the murder charge in his father's death was dropped. The boy's plea spares the eastern Arizona community from what would have been an emotional trial.

For Brennen Overson, who knew the victims and the boy, each time the media flooded the 4,000-person community, it reminded the town of the shocking crimes.

"We don't want to forget Vince or (the boy)," Overson said. "We don't want to forget Tim, either, but that's just a bad memory. Nobody needs to remember that."

The boy used a .22-caliber rifle to shoot the men as they returned home from work, then ran to a neighbor's house, police said. Authorities didn't initially consider him a suspect, but questioned him again after Romans' wife raised suspicions. In a videotaped police interview, the boy admitted pulling the trigger.

No motive was ever revealed, and his defense lawyer said it is unlikely any more details would come out now that the plea deal has been made.

"The best thing for everybody to do right now is remember him in our prayers," said Frank Tschirhart, who lives in nearby Vernon. "Just wish for the best is all you can do."

Apache County Superior Court Judge Michael Roca is deciding the boy's fate. The options include the boy serving time in a county juvenile lockup, probation, being institutionalized for treatment or living with relatives.

Residents hoped the crimes wouldn't ruin the boy's life and that he would get the treatment attorneys say he needs. The boy was 8 years old at the time of the shootings, just one year over Arizona's age limit to be considered delinquent.

"If he gets treatment, I'm all for it," said Michaela Tschirhart, 44. "There's something going on in that boy's head. Whatever caused him to do something like that is amazing."

Marc Wheeler, 23, said the boy didn't seem like a bad kid and believed he pleaded guilty "to end it all and get it over with."

"I think he should've fought it to the end," he said.

John Andreas, a spokesman for the Romans' family, said the case sends a message that children won't be held accountable for crimes.

"It's funny how the law works, and in this case, there is no law," he said.

The juvenile justice system is geared more toward rehabilitating young offenders instead of locking them up, and defense attorney Ron Wood said he will argue against any jail time.

Linda Lucero, 50, a St. Johns resident who has a 9-year-old granddaughter, said she doesn't believe jail time would benefit the boy.

"I hope he does get some help," said Lucero. "I think he does need some treatment. I don't think he realized what he really has done."


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090221/ap_on_re_us/child_charged_community

[Jadedblueeyes]

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10558131

Deal lets young killer's motives stay hidden
4:00AM Monday Feb 23, 2009
Paul Harris

The bare details of the killing were enough to make it one of the most shocking murders in American history.

An 8-year-old boy in a small, isolated town picked up a rifle and deliberately shot dead his father and another man as they returned home from work.

It left the Arizona community of St Johns traumatised and set the nation looking for answers to explain the actions of the homicidal child.

Now those answers may never be known. Last week the child, now 9, who cannot be named, pleaded guilty in a court deal that will avoid a public trial and ensure that most of the details of the case remain secret.

The move has denied millions of Americans a full account of the baffling crime in which the boy apparently methodically prepared a double murder, carried out with a hunting rifle.

Under the plea deal, the boy will have extensive counselling and therapy but will avoid being jailed in the state juvenile corrections system or tried as an adult.

But it leaves many lingering questions. Almost nothing is known of the exact circumstances or motivation for the shooting that left the boy's father, Vincent Romero, and his lodger, Timothy Romans, dead.

"That information is probably never going to come out," said defence lawyer Benjamin Brewer.

The crime came to light last November after the boy knocked on a neighbour's door to report the two men dead. He was initially not a suspect, but was later interviewed by police.

In that interview the boy admitted pulling the trigger himself. He also later told a social worker that he had vowed his 1000th spanking would be his last.

There have been child killers in America before but few have been so young, so deliberate and so seemingly without motive. It focused a harsh spotlight on St Johns, a dusty, isolated town of about 4000 people.

But what stood out was the town's ordinariness. The community is poor and has a drugs problem, but neither fact made it unique. It could have been Anywhere, USA.

The boy had been a good pupil at school with no disciplinary record, and neighbours described him to police as respectful, quiet and well-behaved. His parents were divorced, with his mother living in a different state, and the boy stayed with his father, who had recently remarried. But this, seemingly like everything else about the boy, is hardly unusual.

Nor was the boy's familiarity with the murder weapon especially sinister. His father had taught him to hunt and shoot a rifle but hunting is a common pastime all over the US and such a thing is relatively common, even at the age of 8.

As part of the agreement, prosecutors decided it would be too mentally damaging for the boy to be forced to admit in court to killing his father. So he instead pleaded guilty to one charge of negligent homicide in the case of Romans.

In return, he will be offered a chance at rehabilitation.

The deal was opposed by relatives of Romans, who complained to journalists that the prosecutors had seemed more concerned for the boy's welfare than for that of his victim.

Barring unforeseeable developments, there will never be an explanation for the murder.

- OBSERVER

[tr7fan]

http://www.abc15.com/content/news/northernarizona/story/Prints-of-boy-accused-of-killings-found-on-box-of/fOVJy2sP1kCOthT-AEZCsQ.cspx