Pasadena Teen Pleads Guilty To 2 Murders In Separate Armed Robbery Cases
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ)—A Pasadena teen has pleaded guilty to two separate murders that occurred in 2010. His plea came as a surprise to the jury who had heard two full days of testimony in a trial that was expected to last three weeks.
Eighteen-year-old Vincent Bunner, who was 17 at the time of the murders, pleaded guilty Thursday morning to the first-degree murder of Misael Flores at Mr. Wings & Pizza in Glen Burnie on Nov. 12, 2010.
And, though the trial was not scheduled to begin until July for another murder and robbery for which he was charged, Bunner also pleaded guilty to the first-degree murder of Youssef Attia, who was shot at a Glen Burnie 7-Eleven store on Aug. 9, 2010.
Bunner will be sentenced on April 16 for both cases. Prosecutors will seek two life sentences, plus 20 years for the use of a handgun while committing a crime of violence.
During the plea hearing Thursday morning, prosecutors presented additional evidence learned Tuesday afternoon by both the state and defense. A deputy sheriff who works at the courthouse told them that a few months ago while transporting Bunner from a courtroom hearing back to lock up, the defendant admitted to shooting Flores at Mr. Wings and Pizza.
Bunner told the deputy: "I didn't murder him. He was already dead when I shot him. That's my defense."
The deputy came forward after hearing that during opening statements Bunner's attorneys told the jury that Bunner never shot Flores.
Several others are still awaiting trial in the Mr. Wings and 7-Eleven cases. Shawn Anthony Johnson, Willie Antonio McLean and Charles Butler are also charged in the Mr. Wings and Pizza case. Johnson also was charged in the 7-Eleven killing. Their cases have yet to come to trial.