From a Randolph Place NW resident:
Following up on the other links, this may be worth sharing, as well as an enhanced photo of the alleged murderer from his Facebook profile, in which he wears the hat he purportedly lost during the killing.
Detective's affidavit:
http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/281393-scn-0045.html#document/p1photo is attached.
I hope residents of Bloomingdale and Eckington keep an eye on court proceedures on this. The defendant'a attorney and the prosecutor asked the judge to waive the Preliminary Hearing last Friday, saying they wanted to explore combining the armed carjacking and the murder one (l) cases in a plea bargain. For instance the prosecutor would reduce the Murder 1 (Mandatory minimum 30 year sentence)charge to a Murder 2 (No mandatory minimum) if Speight would plead guilty to both the armed carjacking(minimum 15 year sentence) and the murder 2 charges and give up his right to appeal. Sentencing guidelines for murder 2, range from 12 to 29 years depending on prior record and other things. Speight does not have a long record relative to standards in the guidelines. They are in early negotiation and no plea agreement has been shared with the family yet but it's clear the prosecutor is willing to go the plea bargain route which, he says, will have to include reducing the charge to murder two (2) or the defendant will take his chances with a jury trial. The family's opinion will be considered before a final plea agreement is set but the prosecutor is not in any way bound by the family's wishes; and, the judge can ignore bothe the guidlines and the prosecutor's plea bargain if he doesn't like it. Complicated and risky, isn't it? Still, we'd like to know what the community thinks is an appropriate sentence since it will effect anyone who lives in the area. The next hearing is February 9 and the plea is expected to be be presented to the judge. Kathy Mitchell (Billy's mom)
ReplyDeleteAs a mother, my heart aches for you - that the pain of your loss must be compounded with the burden of making this type of decision. If this man is guilty of both charges, I think he should spend the rest of his life in jail - as a neighbor, I do not want to see him in our streets. But, I would definitely support the idea of going with a sure thing of a plea bargain and guarantee that he serves time and eliminate the trauma and anxiety of a trial.
ReplyDeleteWhatever you and your family decides, you have my full support. Please keep us informed and let us know if our physical presence would be helpful in any situation.
Kathy, I just heard what happened to Billy and rushed to read about it on the Internet. To say that I am shocked would be an understatement. Devastated would be more like it -- just at the thought of how devastated you must be and must have been. No one deserves this, and certainly not a sweet person like you from a good family like yours who doesn't want much more from life than to live and let live.
ReplyDeleteAs for the plea bargain, if I were you I would have a long talk with the prosecutor to see how strong the evidence is and how many loopholes are available for the defendant to benefit from (there's certainly no statute of limitations, but other loopholes might exist). I understand there is DNA evidence of some sort, and surveillance camera footage. How good and undeniable is that evidence? The reason I wonder this is because a prosecutor would rarely negotiate a plea bargain if his evidence is rock solid, well beyond reasonable doubt. (This is logic that every criminal defense attorney knows, so there is no harm publishing it here) Clearly in this case the victim's family is not afraid of the anxiety of a trial (or else you would not be soliciting people's opinions here). So, I would say focus on the incriminating evidence and on the possibility that the suspect might benefit from legal loopholes.
If you're like me, you would not give up the fight until justice is served.
I wish you and to your family all the strength and courage in the world.
(I will be getting updates on the case from our mutual friend)
Kathy, will it help to have members of the community at the Feb 9th hearing? I live on Bill's block. Megan and Bill know how to get hold of me.
ReplyDeleteAre we heartbroken? Yes. But we are so proud (and not at all surprised) that he could not look the other way when an armed thug was threatening innocent victims like the young woman he was assaulting. Did you know she ultimately did as much to help Billy as he did to protect her? And did you know that Speight had pulled an armed carjacking on your block a few hours before he rode around your neighborhood on a bicycle with a ski mask and a black hooded jacket pulled over his face and a loaded gun in his pocket looking to shoot someone. I believe Billy saved more than that one woman with his couragous action to stop Anthony Speight at all costs. The next court date has changed from Feb 9 to Feb 23 at 9:30am. I hope we fill the courtroom with with outraged neighbors, friends and family.
DeleteI was curious to know the outcome of the February hearing - I cannot find any updates. I was a friend of Billy's.
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