FAIRPLAY, USA - A 16-year-old member of a wannabe paramilitary group was sentenced to 60 years in prison for his role in the killings of a teen-age friend and the boy's grandparents.
Isaac Robin-McCain Grimes pleaded guilty in October to charges of second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the deaths of Tony Dutcher, 15, and his grandparents Carl and JoAnna Dutcher.
The three were found stabbed and shot to death at the grandparents' trailer home near Guffey during the New Year's 2000 holiday. Grimes confessed about a year ago to killing Tony Dutcher, who had been his friend.
A psychologist hired by the defense testified during the sentencing hearing Tuesday that Grimes had been brainwashed by two older defendants in the case and had been fearful that his family would be killed if he didn't go along with the slayings.
Grimes' lawyer, J.B. Katz, said Grimes showed little emotion following the sentencing. He faced between 32 and 70 years in prison.
``I think Isaac probably expected that to happen,'' Katz said. She said she will file for reconsideration of the sentence.
As part of a plea agreement, Grimes will testify against Jonathan Matheny, 17, who is accused of shooting and killing the older couple, and Simon Sue, 19, the alleged mastermind of the slayings.
Both are awaiting trial. A fourth teen-ager, Glen Urban, 18, was sentenced to two years in jail last month for being an accessory to murder.
The teen-agers were members of a paramilitary group allegedly headed by Sue that called itself OARA - Operation and Reconnaissance Agents. Members have claimed it was aligned with a political organization in Guyana, but authorities have disputed that. Authorities have said Sue told Grimes and Matheny to kill the Dutchers because they were racist