Teen sniper pleads to manslaughter

BROWNSTOWN, Ind. – A teenager pleaded guilty to killing one man and wounding another in a series of Indiana highway sniper shootings in a deal with prosecutors that relatives of the slain man say they dislike.\nZachariah Blanton, 18, of Gaston, was scheduled to stand trial next week on charges of murder, attempted murder and criminal recklessness. He pleaded guilty in Jackson Circuit Court to lesser charges of voluntary manslaughter with a deadly weapon and criminal recklessness. He faces a possible sentence of 20 to 50 years in prison. A judge must still approve the deal, and sentencing is set for Dec. 27.\nProsecutors say Blanton fired his hunting rifle into Interstate 65 traffic from an overpass near Seymour, Ind., about 60 miles south of Indianapolis on July 23, 2006.\nOne of the shots went through a pickup truck’s windshield and killed 40-year-old Jerry L. Ross of New Albany. An Iowa man traveling in another pickup truck also was injured.\nPolice say Blanton later shot at cars along another highway northeast of Indianapolis, but no one was injured. Blanton, who was 17 at the time, was arrested at his home two days later.\nBlanton said very little in court, giving short answers to the judge’s questions about the shootings. His grandparents declined to comment after the hearing.\nBlanton’s defense attorney did not publicly comment after court, and The Associated Press left a message at his office.\nSeveral of Ross’s relatives wearing “Justice for Jerry” buttons gathered at the courthouse, saying they were unhappy with the plea deal.\nHis father, 70-year-old Jesse Ross, had been with his son at car races in Indianapolis the day of the shooting and they were headed back home to New Albany.\nHe said a jury should have decided Blanton’s fate.\n“Twelve people would be about as fair as it could be, it couldn’t get no better than that,” Ross said. “I don’t think this is right the way they’re doing it. All we want is a fair trial because you can’t bring nothing back.”\nJerry’s twin brother, Terry Ross, said many family members were going to stay out of the hearing as a protest.\n“He committed those crimes, he should be standing trial for them,” he said. “He didn’t give Jerry any kind of a deal.”\nProsecutor Rick Poynter said after the hearing that he understands the family’s pain but had to make a decision based on the strength of his case.\nIf Blanton was tried for murder, he could have faced 45 to 65 years in prison. But Poynter said the jury also would likely have been able to consider convicting him of the lesser charge of reckless homicide, which has a sentence of two to eight years. He also could have been acquitted.\n“I can’t tell you what a jury would or would not do, what I’m saying is there is a big risk between 45 to 65 years and two to eight years,” Poynter said.\nEvidence against Blanton included a rifle seized from his grandparents’ home that prosecutors said matched bullet fragments pulled from vehicles shot along I-65 and on I-69 near Muncie.\nBlanton confessed to the shooting and provided police with details, according to statements by Indiana State Police Sgt. John Kelly in a July probable cause hearing. Blanton told police he fired the shots to relieve pressure after he argued with fellow participants in a southern Indiana hunting trip. Blanton confirmed the motive in court Monday.