Arizona boy who killed father’s roommate to be sentenced in January

Sentencing set for AZ boy who shot dad’s roommate

ST. JOHNS, Ariz. — The sentencing of a 9-year-old St. Johns boy who killed his father’s roommate has been scheduled for next year.

Sentencing has been delayed for months while experts evaluated the boy and attorneys figured out how to secure treatment outlined in a plea deal.

During a hearing Thursday in St. Johns, a judge set sentencing for Jan. 14. That’s more than a year after the boy was charged in a double homicide.

He was 8 when his father and the roommate were shot to death as they arrived home from work in November 2008. The boy pleaded guilty to negligent homicide in the roommate’s death, and prosecutor’s dropped charges against him in his father’s death.

Under the plea deal, he won’t serve any time in the state juvenile corrections facility but could be sentenced to a county juvenile facility. Treatment and probation are other options.