Teen gets 31 years in killing

A 15-year-old Spokane boy was sentenced Thursday to 31 years in prison for his part in the shooting death of a 22-year-old man during an alleged drug robbery.

Aro T. Williams-Walker, who will turn 16 on May 19, will be in his mid-40s when he is released from prison.

After listening to emotional testimony from the family of Gene R. Chamberlain – whom Williams-Walker is accused of fatally shooting the night of Aug. 26, 2002 – and Williams-Walker’s own family, Superior Court Judge Jerome Leveque sentenced him to the minimum standard sentencing range for his crimes.

On March 17 a jury convicted Williams-Walker of first-degree murder and first-degree robbery. Williams-Walker – who was 14 at the time of the murder – and another boy are accused of robbing and shooting Chamberlain, who was in the process of selling him a drug called “sherm,” formaldehyde-soaked cigarettes laced with PCP.

Fighting back tears, Chamberlain’s mother, Sue Chamberlain told the court Thursday how she has gone through denial, anger, grief, depression and finally the acceptance of her son’s death.

“Today’s sentencing will hopefully close the door completely and let me move on,” Chamberlain said.

“Yes, Gene broke the law, and should have gone to jail; but Aro Williams-Walker sentenced Gene to death,” Chamberlain said. “I pray every day for God to give me the power and wisdom to forgive, but I can never forget what has been taken from his father, his daughters and myself.”

Gene Chamberlain has two daughters with Angelique Chamberlain, who also spoke in court Thursday.

“My children will often look at me and say, ‘Mommy, I miss Daddy,’ ” Chamberlain said through tears. “I say, ‘Honey, I do too.’ ”

Police said Williams-Walker confessed to pointing his .22-caliber handgun at Chamberlain through a car window and shooting him once. Chamberlain’s body was found in a credit union parking lot near Lyons and Lidgerwood.

Last year a judge sentenced co-defendant Carlos Fuentes, also 14 at the time of the murder, to juvenile detention until age 21 after he pleaded guilty in the case. Williams-Walker was set to be tried in adult court, after Judge Ellen Clark ruled that Williams-Walker possessed the “sophistication and maturity” of an adult, in part because he has two children with different mothers. Fuentes, she said, was “a far cry from being an adult.”

“This case never should have left the juvenile court,” said Williams-Walker’s attorney, Dennis Dressler.

“Merely being able to have children doesn’t make it right.”

Williams-Walker’s family has maintained his innocence all along. His mother, Pamela Williams, said he was home with her that morning and could not have been at the scene of the crime. She also contends her son’s confession was coerced.

“My son has been made to look like something he really isn’t: a hardened criminal and gang-banger,” Williams said to the court Thursday. “My son is being treated unfairly and is unjustly accused.”

Williams-Walker sat quietly and cried while his mother spoke. His family said they will appeal the jury’s decision.

After his sentencing, Williams-Walker got to his feet and told the Chamberlain’s family he was sorry before being led back to the Spokane County Jail.

“Even though they convicted me of something they say I did but didn’t . . . I’m still sorry that it happened,” Williams-Walker said.

Dressler described the sentencing as the “last leg of the most horrendous journey” in the boy’s life.

“I’m truly at a loss as to what can be done to bring justice to this case,” Dressler said. “Justice will not be done no matter what you do.”

Dressler even asked the court to consider a sentence 20 months less than the 31 years, the statutory minimum, proposed by the prosecution.

That outraged Deputy Prosecutor Eugene Cruz, who said he was “shocked” that Dressler even asked.

“He was found guilty of taking a life,” Cruz said. “(The jury) considered all the evidence and found him guilty. The state is shocked that Mr. Dressler would make that pitch at this time.”

Dressler apologized and said he “didn’t think you could shock prosecutors.”

In the end, the judge upheld the suggested sentencing of 261 months, the minimum of the standard range. The court also imposed 120 additional months for a firearms enhancement on the two charges. Williams-Walker was also given credit for 624 days already served.

“As much as I would like to swim upstream, I can’t. It would do no good,” Leveque said, stating that he didn’t think he was allowed by law to impose anything other than the standard range for the crimes.

“It is so very sad that two families are so bitterly affected by a tragic event and there’s so little any of us can do about it.”