ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, April 3, 1997 TAG: 9704030004
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK THE ROANOKE TIMES
There is still conflicting testimony about whether the Dec. 30 shooting of Larry E. Donahue by Michael S. Benton was purely random.
A 19-year-old Roanoke man who told friends he planned to kill someone the night of Dec. 30 has admitted to doing just that.
As part of a plea agreement reached last week, Michael S. Benton pleaded guilty to murder in exchange for a promise from prosecutors that they will seek no more than 40 years in prison when he is sentenced July 2.
Roanoke Circuit Judge Clifford Weckstein convicted Benton of first-degree murder and use of a firearm in connection with the death of Larry E. Donahue, who was shot in the head as he walked down a sidewalk on Chapman Avenue Southwest.
At the time, authorities said that Donahue, 33, apparently was picked at random.
A witness testified at a preliminary hearing in January that Benton was boasting to a group of friends that he planned to kill someone that night. A short time later, Benton shot Donahue in the back of the head as he walked by the group, the witness said.
But according to Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Alice Ekirch's summary of the evidence, there would have been conflicting testimony about whether the shooting was purely random.
Some witnesses have told police that Benton and Donahue had talked about a possible drug deal at the Speedway Market on 13th Street Southwest, a short distance from where Donahue was shot. Other witnesses have said there was no prior contact between the two men, Ekirch said.
Benton's attorney, Assistant Public Defender Darren Haley, said the defense would have contended that there was "a confrontation that escalated and escalated until shots were fired." He declined to elaborate on the nature of the confrontation.
Others said Donahue did nothing to provoke the shooting. "He was just walking down the street, minding his own business," a 15-year-old girl testified in January.
Although Benton had made comments earlier that night about wanting to kill someone - no one in particular, he said - most of the young people he was hanging out with didn't take him seriously, the girl testified.
But Keith Riles, 17, who also is charged with murder, apparently took him seriously enough to go get a gun from Benton's nearby home and give it to the 19-year-old, police said in a search warrant.
Several witnesses said they saw Benton use the gun to shoot Donahue in the back of the head as he walked away from the group.
Donahue was pronounced dead at the scene.
As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors also agreed to ask for no more than what state sentencing guidelines recommend for Benton - even if that's below the 40 years cited in another part of the agreement. First-degree murder carries a punishment of 20 years to life in prison. The guidelines, which can vary depending on a defendant's prior record and other factors, have not been computed for Benton's case.
Ekirch declined to comment on why prosecutors made the offer, saying she did not want to do so while charges are pending against Riles.
Benton had been scheduled to go on trial this coming Monday. But he pleaded guilty at 4:35 p.m. last Thursday in a hearing that was not included on a docket that listed cases to be heard that day in Roanoke Circuit Court.
Members of Donahue's family were not informed about the plea agreement until after the hearing. One member of the family, who asked not to be identified, declined to comment about the case Wednesday.
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