A Charleston teenager who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for his part in a 2006 fatal robbery in a downtown parking garage will stay in a juvenile facility while he completes his GED, a Kanawha Circuit judge ruled Wednesday.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A Charleston teenager who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for his part in a 2006 fatal robbery in a downtown parking garage will stay in a juvenile facility while he completes his GED, a Kanawha Circuit judge ruled Wednesday.
Ronald D. Hambleton was 15 when he, William Bumpus and Daniel Botkin tried to rob Joshua Boggess in the BB&T parking garage on Lee and Laidley streets shortly before midnight on July 6, 2006. During the incident, Bumpus shot 25-year-old Boggess in the chest, killing him.
Hambleton and Botkin pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and first-degree robbery in November 2006 and were sentenced to 40 years in prison. Bumpus, who pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and first-degree robbery, is serving a life sentence with the possibility for parole.
Having turned 18, Hambleton appeared in court Wednesday so that Judge Duke Bloom could determine whether he should be transferred from the West Virginia Industrial Home for Youth in Salem to an adult correctional facility.
Hambleton told the judge that he hoped to complete his education.
"I'd like to say I'm sorry to the family of the victim who was killed," he said. "I was young and I was naïve when I was 15, running around with the wrong people."
Sue Shaffer, Boggess' aunt, spoke on behalf of his family, noting that Boggess was about to become a first-time father at the time of his death.
Boggess' son, Joshua Maddox Boggess, is now 2 1/2 years old.
"We still think of him everyday," she said. "His death brought us anger and then the deepest sadness that we've ever known."
She spoke to Hambleton directly where he sat at the defense table, and he turned to look at her.
"It appears that amongst those involved, you've shown the most remorse," said Shaffer, who works at the Charleston Gazette. She said she didn't know about Hambleton's life experiences before Boggess' death, and urged Hambleton to do better with his life, now that he knows better.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A Charleston teenager who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for his part in a 2006 fatal robbery in a downtown parking garage will stay in a juvenile facility while he completes his GED, a Kanawha Circuit judge ruled Wednesday.
Ronald D. Hambleton was 15 when he, William Bumpus and Daniel Botkin tried to rob Joshua Boggess in the BB&T parking garage on Lee and Laidley streets shortly before midnight on July 6, 2006. During the incident, Bumpus shot 25-year-old Boggess in the chest, killing him.
Hambleton and Botkin pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and first-degree robbery in November 2006 and were sentenced to 40 years in prison. Bumpus, who pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and first-degree robbery, is serving a life sentence with the possibility for parole.
Having turned 18, Hambleton appeared in court Wednesday so that Judge Duke Bloom could determine whether he should be transferred from the West Virginia Industrial Home for Youth in Salem to an adult correctional facility.
Hambleton told the judge that he hoped to complete his education.
"I'd like to say I'm sorry to the family of the victim who was killed," he said. "I was young and I was naïve when I was 15, running around with the wrong people."
Sue Shaffer, Boggess' aunt, spoke on behalf of his family, noting that Boggess was about to become a first-time father at the time of his death.
Boggess' son, Joshua Maddox Boggess, is now 2 1/2 years old.
"We still think of him everyday," she said. "His death brought us anger and then the deepest sadness that we've ever known."
She spoke to Hambleton directly where he sat at the defense table, and he turned to look at her.
"It appears that amongst those involved, you've shown the most remorse," said Shaffer, who works at the Charleston Gazette. She said she didn't know about Hambleton's life experiences before Boggess' death, and urged Hambleton to do better with his life, now that he knows better.
Kanawha County assistant prosecutor Fred Giggenbach reminded the judge that he had upheld the sentences for both Botkin and Bumpus when they turned 18.
Botkin, who turned 18 in September 2007, is serving his sentence at Huttonsville Correctional Center. Bumpus, who is housed at Mount Olive Correctional Center, was transferred to the adult facility after he turned 18 in February 2008.
"It would be unfair for [Hambleton] to receive anything less," Giggenbach said.
Bloom said that he had mixed feelings about what to do with Hambleton.
"Unlike your co-defendants, you seem to have done your very best to get the most out of the program," he said. "That has not gone unnoticed."
Bloom decided to allow Hambleton to finish his high-school education, which is expected to take roughly 18 months, at the juvenile facility.
"I think you have more maturing to do, more growing up to do, more thinking about the consequences of your actions," Bloom said.
He warned Hambleton that his ruling was no guarantee of future leniency.
"I better continue to see absolute progress," he said.
Reach Andrew Clevenger at acleven...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1723.
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