One of four Arizona men suspected of breaking into a man’s home and fatally shooting him in a marijuana robbery gone bad pleaded guilty Friday to felony burglary.
Daniel Nelson Wright, 20, of Phoenix faces 10 to 24 years in prison after signing a plea agreement with the 6th Judicial District Attorney’s Office. He was charged with first-degree murder before accepting the plea agreement.
Sentencing is set for 2 p.m. April 14 in front of District Judge William Herringer.
Wright is the only one of the four suspects to enter a plea agreement. His co-defendants – Kuauhtleko Garcia, 21, of Scottsdale, Arizona; Kodi “Maz” E. Kuauhtli, 19, of Phoenix; and Alvin Noel Flores, 22, of Phoenix – have pleaded not guilty and are scheduled for trials later this year. Garcia and Flores entered their not guilty pleas Friday.
All four are accused of playing a role in a home-invasion style robbery that resulted in the shooting death of Fort Lewis College student Samuel Xarius Gordon, 20.
The burglary occurred shortly after 3:30 a.m. May 24 at 253 Jenkins Ranch Road in the SkyRidge subdivision.
According to police and court testimony, the men planned to rob Gordon of his 9 pounds of illegal marijuana and nearly $20,000 in cash. One of the men shot Gordon in the abdomen, possibly after being spooked when Gordon walked out of his second-story bedroom with a flare gun in his hand, according to police.
Investigators have not revealed who they believe pulled the trigger. Two men were upstairs at the time of the shooting, and two men were downstairs. According to testimony, Wright never went upstairs, and therefore, he is not suspected of being the shooter.
Gordon’s mother, Jeanette Phillips, said she’s not so sure. When her son’s roommates called 911, the only suspect they described was a black man, and Wright was the only black man among the group, she said Friday in court. But the man who called 911 later testified the shooter wasn’t necessarily the black man.
Phillips told Judge Herringer she’s opposed to the plea agreement, saying she wasn’t adequately consulted about the offer, and it’s a little early to offer a plea agreement in the case.
“I believe it’s very premature,” she said. “... I believe he should stand trial like everyone else.”
Wright will be screened by the probation department, which will make sentencing recommendations. Judge Herringer said he reserves the right to reject the plea agreement and set the case for trial after reviewing the pre-sentence investigation report.
shane@durangoherald.com
