COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A 16-year-old Nebraska boy has pleaded guilty in the slaying of a 38-year-old Council Bluffs man.
Pottawattamie County District Court records say Xavier Smith-Catchings, of Omaha, entered a written plea Wednesday to a charge of second-degree murder. Prosecutors lowered the charge in exchange for his plea. He and three men were charged with killing Adam Angeroth in January.
Smith-Catchings’ filing says he’s agreed to be sentenced to 50 years and must serve a minimum of 10 years. The filing says the judge isn’t bound by the agreement, so if the judge gives Smith-Catchings the maximum, Smith-Catchings may withdraw his plea.
The judge had ruled that Smith-Catchings’ case remain in in district court because it was unlikely he’d be rehabilitated in the juvenile system.
The Daily Nonpareil reports that Nicholas Haner, of Harlan; Ryan McDonald, of Glenwood; and Liam Stec, of Omaha, Nebraska, were sentenced earlier this week to 50 years. They all pleaded guilty to second-degree murder after prosecutors lowered the charge.
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Information from: The Daily Nonpareil, http://www.nonpareilonline.com
