CASPER — The 17-year-old accomplice in the fatal stabbing of a 14-year-old boy at a Casper mall on April 7, 2024, reached a plea agreement on Friday for a reduced charge in the killing.
Dominique Antonio Richard Harris pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit second-degree murder as part of a plea agreement with Natrona County District Attorney Dan Itzen, who agreed to dismiss Harris’ other charges of aggravated assault and theft.
The teen, dressed in a red jumpsuit and chains, appeared in Natrona County District Judge Kerri Johnson’s courtroom alongside defense attorney Brandon Booth. There were no members of the victim’s or Harris’ families in the courtroom, only police investigators and journalists.
Itzen detailed the plea agreement for the judge, which included the amended charge of conspiracy to commit second-degree murder.
Harris was initially charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, a crime punishable by life in prison.
Under the plea agreement, Itzen stated that he would seek “no less than 30 years and no more than 75 years,” but Booth and Harris could argue for less time. The second-degree charge carries a sentence of 20 years to life.
“Restitution may be an issue at the time of sentencing,” Itzen told reporters.
Itzen stated that the plea deal was a “cold plea,” and the judge advised Harris on what that meant. She told him he had to cooperate with the pre-sentence investigation and not break the law, and that even though he was incarcerated at the Natrona County Juvenile Detention Facility, any fighting or issues there could jeopardize the agreement.
Johnson inquired whether Harris understood the terms of the plea agreement.
“Yes, ma’am,” he replied.
She asked him how he would respond to the charge.
“Guilty,” he replied.
Itzen Outlines Guilt
Under the plea deal, Itzen provided the basis for the guilty plea and recounted information in the Casper Police affidavit of how Harris’s co-conspirator Jarreth Plunkett and Harris, both then 15, had a run-in with victim Bobby Maher at an Evansville park two weeks prior to the stabbing and that text messages were exchanged between them.
Itzen described an encounter between Plunkett, Harris, Maher’s girlfriend, and another boy in an Evansville alley two days before the stabbing, during which Plunkett asked Maher’s friend if he “wanted to pay Bobby’s blood debt.”
Itzen claimed that on April 7, 2024, Harris and Plunkett went to the Eastridge Mall, met and spoke with Maher’s girlfriend, and “armed themselves with knives” stolen from the Target store.
They met a friend of Maher’s in the food court and told him about their plans to fight him, and the teen advised them to fight two-on-two.
The court affidavit then states that Plunkett threatened his friend with the stolen knife.
Itzen told the court that Harris disposed of the knife, but when Maher arrived at the mall to defend his girlfriend, he, Plunkett, and Maher exited through the mall entrance across from Dick’s Sporting Goods and next to the Hibachi Supreme Buffet.
“The defendant slams him to the ground and J. J. Plunkett stabs him with the stolen knife,” Itzen told reporters.
The judge asked Booth and Harris if they were okay with her using the other information in the affidavit to verify Harris’ guilt. Booth said he agreed.
“Yes, ma’am,” Harris replied.
Threat To ‘Shank” Victim
The affidavit states that prior to going outside during the encounter with Maher’s friend in the food court, Harris told police that Plunkett told Maher’s friend after pulling out his knife that he was going to “shank” Maher.
According to the affidavit, Harris told police that after grabbing Maher around the waist and throwing him to the ground, he and Plunkett punched Maher in the face and held Maher down “to make sure the fight was over.”
Johnson asked Booth and Harris if they had any comments on Itzen’s statements. Booth stated that he and Harris discussed the “conspiracy” charge.
“This is the path he has chosen,” Booth explained.
Both Booth and Harris agreed that the evidence was sufficient to convict him of conspiracy to commit second-degree murder.
Under questioning from the judge, both Booth and Itzen requested a two-hour block for Harris’ sentencing.
Booth stated that while there are people who would like to speak on his client’s behalf, he understood that the majority of the time would be spent on statements from the victim’s perspective.
Johnson agreed to drop the aggravated assault and battery charge stemming from Harris and Plunkett’s encounter with Maher’s friend in the food court, as well as the theft charge stemming from the knives they stole from Target.
The judge stated that she would order a pre-sentence investigation.
Plunkett accepted a plea deal in May and pleaded guilty to first-degree murder for stabbing Maher and aggravated assault for placing a knife against Maher’s friend’s chest. In exchange, the theft charge was dropped.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on September 5.
