Bobby Maher appears inset near an image of the area where he was stabbed to death at a mall in Casper, Wyoming, on April 7, 2024 (GoFundMe; Google Maps)
A 17-year-old in Wyoming will spend decades behind bars for killing a 14-year-old boy who was defending his girlfriend. The teen held the victim down while a second assailant fatally stabbed him in front of onlookers.
Natrona County District Judge Kerri Johnson on Thursday ordered Dominique Antonio Richard Harris to serve 40 to 75 years in a state correctional facility over the 2024 slaying of Bobby Maher Jr., Oil City News reported.
Harris, who had initially been facing conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, aggravated assault, and theft, reached a deal with the district attorney's office in August that reduced the conspiracy charge and dropped the additional charges. He was credited with 691 days of time already served.
Harris' co-defendant in the case, now-17-year-old Jarreth Joseflee Sebastian Plunkett, pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree murder in May and was handed a life sentence. However, under Wyoming state law, a minor convicted of a murder charge is eligible for parole after serving 25 years in prison.
During Thursday's hearing, Harris addressed the court, apologizing for attacking Maher from the rear and holding him down while Plunkett fatally stabbed the teen, Cowboy State Daily reported.
"I regret every decision I made on April 7, [2024], and I wish I could change it, but I cannot," he reportedly told the court. "I have found God and he has shown me how to walk in peace. . . I do take accountability for the part I played."
But the judge reiterated that while Plunkett dealt the fatal blows, "it wasn't until Harris went in from behind and slammed [Maher] down" that the scene turned deadly.
"Mr. Harris knew that Mr. Plunkett had a knife," Johnson reportedly said, before addressing Harris directly. "You knew he was going to be at the mall and hoped he would be at the mall."
Natrona County District Attorney Dan Itzen echoed the judge's sentiment about Harris being the individual who made the attack possible.
"The defendant's role was to be the enforcer," Itzen argued. "To pick him up and do a body slam — Bobby Maher paid the blood debt with his life."
Harris' defense attorney continued to maintain his client was not aware that Plunkett planned to kill Maher.
As Law&Crime previously reported, Harris and Plunkett had been in a confrontation with Maher at a local park about two weeks before the fatal stabbing.
Two days before the murder, the defendants encountered Maher's girlfriend and Maher's friend, during which Plunkett reportedly asked the friend if he "wanted to pay Bobby's blood debt." Plunkett also said he was going to "gut that dude," referring to Maher, Oil City News reported.
On the day of the murder, Harris and Plunkett had been playing hide-and-seek in a Best Buy in the Eastridge Mall in Casper, Wyoming, according to an affidavit obtained by local K2 Radio.
After the game, the two teens decided to steal knives from a store. Later, they came into contact with Maher's girlfriend and began following her. She contacted Maher, who went to the mall to make sure she was safe.
When the defendants saw Maher leaving a Dick's Sporting Goods, violence erupted.
The verbal altercation began outside the sporting goods store, and a large group of people quickly assembled to watch.
Eventually, the assailants flanked the boy, the affidavit said. Then, Harris can be seen grabbing Maher "around the waist, lifting him off the ground, and slamming him down with great force on his left side."
The death blows came quickly afterward, police said.
"Dominique [Harris] is seen holding (Maher) while Jarreth [Plunkett] jumped in," police wrote in a probable cause affidavit — referring to a cellphone video. "Dominique appeared to strike (Maher) in the face, while [Plunkett] is observed swinging the knife in a downward motion, stabbing (Maher) twice."
Footage of the attack played during a prior court appearance showed Maher being stabbed before getting to his feet, taking a few steps toward the mall, and then collapsing.
Harris previously admitted to holding Maher down, but told police he was only doing it "to make sure the fight was over."