Jury indicts teens as adults
Jason...@virgin.net
Jury indicts teens as adults
Youths accused of burning to death Persian Gulf veteran
SHALIMAR -- (AP) -- Three teenagers charged with murdering a man by
burning him alive and then slashing his throat while he was tied to a
tree will be prosecuted as adults, a grand jury has decided.
The panel indicted the young man and two young women on charges of
first-degree murder and kidnapping Thursday in the death of Persian Gulf
War veteran Cordell Richards, 31, of Fort Walton Beach.
Okaloosa County sheriff's investigators said the apparent motive was
revenge for alleged sexual advances the victim made toward one of the
girls.
Assistant State Attorney Bobby Elmore said prosecutors haven't decided
whether to seek the death penalty against Ronald Bell Jr., 18, of Mary
Esther, and his girlfriend, Kristel Maestas, 17, of Fort Walton Beach.
The only other penalty for first-degree murder is life in prison without
parole.
The third defendant, Renee Lincks, 16, of Fort Walton Beach, was 15
when Richards was killed in late January or early February. The Florida
Supreme court has ruled that a person cannot be executed for a crime
committed when 15 or younger.
The three teens were removed from a juvenile detention facility in
Pensacola and taken to the Okaloosa County Jail in Crestview after being
indicted.
A fourth teen, April Maestas, the 14-year-old sister of Kristel Maestas,
remained at the juvenile facility under a charge of accessory after the
fact to murder.
She is accused of helping her sister and Bell try to destroy evidence by
burning the body a second time about two weeks after the killing in an
empty lot. The body wasn't found until about a month after the murder.
No decision has been made on whether April Maestas will be tried as an
adult. If so, she could get a sentence of up to 30 years in prison if
convicted.
Deputies said Kristel Maestas, who was renting a room in Richards'
apartment, and Lincks lured the victim into a compromising situation so
Bell could knock him out by striking him in the head with a flashlight.
Richards was taken to an isolated area where he was beaten with bats and
sticks and set on fire. His throat was slashed once the fire was out to
make sure he died, investigators said.