THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, June 1, 1996 TAG: 9606010205
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ANGELITA PLEMMER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: 31 lines
A boy who was 15 when he killed a man during a robbery last year was sentenced Friday to life in prison plus 38 years. Prosecutors said he was one of the youngest ever in Portsmouth to get a life sentence.
A jury in February convicted the teenager, William Nixon, of first-degree murder, robbery and using a firearm. Circuit Judge Norman Olitsky sentenced Nixon on Friday.
Nixon, now 16, was accused of shooting Terry L. Flythe on June 28, 1995, in the 200 block of Dale Drive in the Dale Homes neighborhood. Flythe, a bricklayer, formerly of the 1700 block of Atlanta Avenue, was approached by Nixon and two other males who were looking for someone to rob for money, prosecutor Will Jamerson said.
Nixon pointed a gun at the back of Flythe's head, forced Flythe to lean over a chair and went through his pockets. After Nixon retrieved the wallet, Jamerson said, ``Flythe moved, and the gun went off or Nixon shot him.''
``It was clear that it was Nixon's idea to start the whole thing,'' Jamerson said, and ``it was clear he had the gun at the back of (Flythe's) head.''
Nixon was originally charged with capital murder in October, but prosecutors did not pursue the death penalty because Nixon was five months shy of his 16th birthday.
KEYWORDS: SENTENCING MURDER TRIAL SHOOTING JUVENILE by CNB