- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
Teen snipers plead guilty
By: Ray Snader, Tribune Correspondent August 28, 2003
Two Newport teenagers, charged with sniper style shootings that occurred June 25, were ordered into state custody for an indefinite period this morning, after they entered guilty pleas in a shooting incident that left one man dead and a woman injured. The shots were fired from a wooded area near the highway.
Stepbrothers William Buckner, 15, and Joshua Buckner, 13, who were arrested after the shooting incident on Interstate 40 near mile marker 437, just east of Newport, have been under house arrest after being freed on $100,000 bond each by Judge John Bell.
Aaron Hamel, 45, of Knoxville, who was driving westbound, was killed by a bullet that struck him in his head. His Toyota pickup then crossed the grass median and struck a guard rail.
Kimberly Bede, 19, from Moneta, Va., was a passenger in another vehicle when she was shot in the hip. She was hospitalized for several days.
Judge Ben Strand, sitting in for Bell, who has been called to active military duty, said he would have preferred to sentence the boys to a definite period, but under the law he could not do that. He told Bede and members of Hamel's family that he wished he could "do more" with regard to the punishment. Under state law the boys can be kept in state custody until they are 19. Before they are released a court will consider the recommendation from officials of the Department of Children's Services.
As the trial got under way this morning, District Attorney General Al Schmutzer told Strand the boys would enter guilty pleas with sentencing left up to the court.
The teens nodded their heads "yes" or answered "Yes, sir" when they were asked if they were satisfied with their representation by Defense Attorney Clyde Dunn. They had similar responses when the judge asked them if they were guilty of reckless homicide, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment.
Schmutzer detailed the shooting in which Bede was shot and Hamel was killed, as well as the arrest of the teens. The prosecutor said the boys were found on a four-wheeler near the scene, but initially denied firing at the vehicles. They later said they had been shooting at pigeons in the area, but in a third statement admitted they were firing and attempting to strike the sides of tractor trailer trucks.
Both teens had fired .22 caliber rifles. The defendants said they had gotten the idea from watching a video called "Grand Theft Auto."
"Will said he fired two shots in rapid succession and he believes he hit the pickup truck (driven by Hamel)," Schmutzer said. He added that shell casings found at the scene could not be matched with either gun taken from the boys and bullet fragments taken from the head of Hamel were too disintegrated for a ballistics test.
The teens said they had stolen the two rifles from a case in their parents' bedroom a week earlier and had hidden them in the woods until the day of the incident.
Schmutzer said DNA testing on a cigarette butt found at the scene tied Josh Buckner to the crime.
Bede testified she has not been able to go to school or to work since she was shot.
Asked by Schmutzer about the impact the incident has had on her, Bede responded "I'm a wreck. I keep thinking about what are my chances that something like this could happen again."
The mother of Hamel, Rosemary Hamel, of Windsor, Canada, testified her son was a registered nurse who loved people and in the past had cared for children with terminal cancer.
"In my mind I keep seeing David in his truck with a bullet in his head. That will never leave my mind," Mrs. Hamel told the judge.
Denise Deneau, also of Canada, is a cousin to Aaron Hamel and was a passenger in his truck at the time of the shooting. She said she had come to Tennessee to visit with the victim and they had spent the day in North Carolina. As they traveled west toward Knoxville, where the victim had recently moved, "This bullet came through the window. The glass shattered and as I leaned forward I felt heat pass my face," she told the judge.
Deneau said she initially believed she had been struck, but then felt the pickup truck go out of control.
"I saw blood coming from David's head and I realized we were going through the median. I thought I was dead," she said. The woman added she could do nothing to stop the truck and thought the vehicle would go over the guard rail "and we would tumble and tumble and die in flames."
In fact, the small Toyota vehicle came to rest against the guard rail.
Fifteen relatives of Hamel and Bede sat in the courtroom shaking their heads and sobbing as Deneau related her story.
Dunn told the court anything he said "would be hollow and our hearts are breaking for them," referring to the earlier testimony from Deneau, Bede and Hamel's mother.
Dunn described the shooting as "a foolish and illegal act that produced an unintended and horribly unfortunate result." He said he had denied the teens' request to communicate with Bede and Hamel's relatives until today. He said earlier this week the boys did write letters in which they expressed remorse for the shooting.
William Buckner, in his letter, said even though he is pleading guilty, "I know you will still hate me and I'll hate myself. I pray for you and know what I did was stupid. I hope God will give you comfort. I am so, so sorry."
Joshua Buckner, in his letter, says he didn't mean to hurt anyone, but "this will stick with me the rest of my life. The Lord in heaven will be with me, but it will take time to heal this."
Dunn asked the judge to grant the boys probation because of their remorse, cooperation with law enforcement officers and the fact that neither have previous criminal records.
Schmutzer, in response, argued that to grant the defendants probation would be to "depreciate the seriousness of the situation." He said while the death and injury were not intended, "this was about as reckless as you can get-firing on traffic, understanding that the vehicles had people in them."
Strand said the school records of Joshua were "atrocious" last year, and the parents did not try to help educators and "that alone shows me probation is not something I would consider." He said parents need to know they can keep their children out of situations such as the one faced by the defendants.
Strand said he saw a news program in the past about "Grand Theft Auto" and he found it ironic he was called upon to deal with a situation the program addressed. He also found it tragic that Aaron Hamel had worked with troubled youth in the past, and that "one of the people killed in this incident was the very kind of person that these young men need."
"I hope whatever happens today, you will become useful members of society. I apologize for anything I have done to create additional publicity in this case" Strand said. "I have been concerned about the amount of publicity and expected at any time someone would bring a monkey into the courtroom. I hope the case can be resolved in a way that it won't come back to haunt you in the future."