Nearly 7 years after fatal shooting, suspects admit guilt in UK student’s death
The three suspects accused of shooting and killing University of Kentucky student Jonathan Krueger in a robbery gone wrong pleaded guilty Thursday morning, bringing the murder case close to its conclusion nearly seven years after the deadly incident.
Justin Delone Smith, Roman Gonzalez and Efrain Diaz, Jr. admitted guilt for an April 2015 robbery and shooting which left Krueger, a UK student and photo editor at the Kentucky Kernel, dead. Gonzalez pleaded guilty to murder and two counts of robbery. Smith pleaded guilty to manslaughter, two counts of robbery and evading police. Diaz pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery.
“Jonathan Krueger’s family and the living robbery victim have patiently waited for those responsible for his death to take responsibility,” Lou Anna Red Corn, the Fayette commonwealth’s attorney, said in a statement to the Herald-Leader. “No crime victim should have to wait seven years for those responsible to be held accountable for their actions.”
Red Corn also said she hopes the defendants’ pleas to long prison sentences “will help protect our community and give their victims some comfort.”
As part of a plea agreement, an evidence tampering charge against Smith was dismissed. His murder charge was amended down to manslaughter. The murder charge against Diaz was also dismissed. Diaz was 20 when the shooting happened. He’s now 27.
Prosecutors recommended that Gonzalez receive a 20 year prison sentence for his murder conviction, a 10 year prison sentence for one of his robbery convictions and a five year prison sentence for his second robbery conviction. Gonzalez was 17 at the time of the shooting. He’s now 24.
For Smith, prosecutors recommended that he receive a 10 year sentence for his manslaughter conviction, an 18 year sentence for one of his robbery convictions, a five year sentence for his other robbery conviction and a one year sentence for his evading police conviction. Smith is now 25. He was 18 at the time of the robbery.
Prosecutors recommended that Diaz receive a 15 year sentence for one robbery conviction and five years for the other robbery conviction.
Prosecutors didn’t make any recommendation as to whether or not any of the three men should serve each of their sentences consecutively or at the same time.
“This is a tragic situation and while nothing can make up for the loss suffered by the family, we hope that the plea provides some finality for all the parties in what has been a long legal process,” Kim Green, Smith’s attorney, said in a statement provided to the Herald-Leader.
Prosecutors did say Thursday that they oppose Gonzalez getting probation. The 24-year-old is eligible for probation because he was 17 at the time of the killing.
Krueger was walking with a friend near campus when Diaz, Smith and Gonzalez confronted him, according to previous court testimony. All three of the suspects allegedly had weapons. They were attempting to rob Krueger and his friend, and the victims cooperated at first. But the suspects got more demanding and the victims began to resist.
Krueger’s friend managed to flee the scene, but Krueger was shot multiple times. In police interviews, Diaz and Smith blamed Gonzalez for shooting Krueger, according to previous court testimony.
“During the course of their argument, fight, he took the victim’s life,” Gonzalez’ attorney, Daniel Whitley, acknowledged during court proceedings Thursday.
A trial in this case was delayed multiple times, due in part to COVID-19. The case was set to go to trial April 4 until the defense and prosecutors reached a plea agreement.
Prosecutors previously intended to seek the death penalty for Smith and Diaz if they were convicted for murder, but later abandoned that effort. Gonzalez was never eligible for the death penalty because he was a minor when the shooting happened.
Sentencing is scheduled for April 28.
This story was originally published March 31, 2022 at 9:25 AM.