A Wyoming teenager will spend decades in prison after admitting he helped carry out the deadly attack of a 14-year-old boy who had come to defend his girlfriend at a local mall.
Natrona County District Judge Kerri Johnson sentenced 17-year-old Dominique Antonio Richard Harris to 40 to 75 years behind bars for his role in the April 7, 2024 killing of Bobby Maher Jr., according to Oil City News. Harris received credit for 691 days already served.
Prosecutors said Harris held Maher down while his co-defendant, Jarreth Joseflee Sebastian Plunkett — also now 17 — stabbed the teen in front of a crowd of onlookers at Eastridge Mall in Casper.
Plunkett pleaded guilty to first-degree murder earlier this year and was sentenced to life in prison. Under Wyoming law, however, minors convicted of murder become eligible for parole after serving 25 years.
Harris had initially faced conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, aggravated assault and theft charges. In August, he reached a plea agreement that reduced the conspiracy charge and dropped the additional counts.
During sentencing, Harris apologized in court.
“I regret every decision I made on April 7, 2024, and I wish I could change it, but I cannot,” he said, according to Cowboy State Daily. “I have found God and he has shown me how to walk in peace. I do take accountability for the part I played.”
But Judge Johnson made clear that Harris’ actions were pivotal in turning the confrontation deadly.
“It wasn’t until Harris went in from behind and slammed him down” that the situation escalated, she said, noting that Harris knew Plunkett had a knife and expected Maher to be at the mall.
Natrona County District Attorney Dan Itzen echoed that view, arguing that Harris acted as the enforcer in the attack.
“To pick him up and do a body slam — Bobby Maher paid the blood debt with his life,” Itzen said.
Harris’ defense attorney maintained that his client did not know Plunkett intended to kill Maher.
The deadly confrontation had reportedly been brewing for weeks. Court records show the teens had clashed with Maher at a local park about two weeks before the stabbing. Days before the killing, Plunkett allegedly told Maher’s friend he was going to “gut that dude,” referring to Maher.
On the day of the attack, Harris and Plunkett were at Eastridge Mall, where investigators say they played hide-and-seek inside a Best Buy before stealing knives from a store.
They later encountered Maher’s girlfriend and began following her, prompting her to call Maher for help. When Maher arrived and was leaving a Dick’s Sporting Goods store, a verbal confrontation broke out. A large crowd gathered as tensions escalated.
According to police affidavits and cellphone video evidence, Harris grabbed Maher around the waist, lifted him off the ground and slammed him down forcefully. While Harris restrained him and allegedly struck him in the face, Plunkett stabbed Maher twice in a downward motion.
Maher briefly got to his feet and took a few steps before collapsing inside the mall.
Harris later told police he held Maher down only “to make sure the fight was over.”
The court ultimately concluded his role made the fatal attack possible — and now, the teen faces decades in prison for a fight that ended in tragedy.
Finally a smart judge