Last defendant sentenced in death of Maryland man dumped in Christmas tree bag
The last of five people charged in the 2019 slaying of a Hagerstown man whose body was found in a Christmas tree bag in West Virginia was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in state prison.
Erica Shatiena Earl, 24, of Hagerstown, entered an Alford plea last November to one count of conspiracy to commit armed robbery. An Alford plea does not admit guilt, but acknowledges the prosecution has enough evidence to obtain a conviction.
Other charges, including first-degree murder, were dismissed as part of the plea bargain.
Earl was charged in the Jan. 20, 2019, death of 27-year-old Christopher Turner. Turner had four gunshot wounds and his body was found that Jan. 30 inside an artificial Christmas tree storage bag down an embankment near Gerrardstown, W.Va., according to Herald-Mail archives.
As part of the plea deal, Earl agreed to testify if called upon and she did that against co-defendant Antonio Cane Arana earlier this year, Assistant State's Attorney Christopher McCormack said in Washington County Circuit Court.
McCormack said sentencing guidelines, with Earl previously having "no real criminal record," were for five to 10 years.
Since Judge Brett R. Wilson oversaw Arana's trial and heard Earl's testimony, McCormack did not make a specific recommendation for sentencing, but told Wilson he believed the judge was "in a better position to determine an appropriate sentence."
Wilson, referring to Earl's testimony at Arana's trial, told her she made an "incredible effort at minimizing your role in a serious, significant and ultimately deadly crime."
Wilson said he believed the crime was initially meant to be a robbery, but sometimes things go wrong.
He sentenced Earl to 20 years in state prison, suspending five years.
Earl has 1,322 days of credit, or over 3 1/2 years, for time served at the Washington County Detention Center.
Because she pleaded to a misdemeanor, she could be considered for parole after serving part of her sentence, Wilson said.
Wilson also sentenced her to three years of supervised probation upon her release, to submit to mental health and substance abuse testing and treatment, and to a $3,222 judgment to be paid to the state's Criminal Injuries Compensation Board, which helps crime victims. The judgment is to be paid jointly with other convicted defendants from the case.
Prior to Wilson sentencing Earl, Assistant Public Defender Loren Villa read a letter in court from Earl to Turner's family and friends, some of whom were in the courtroom gallery.
Through the letter, Earl apologized for the "pain and damage" caused to the family and she hoped they would find it in their hearts to accept her "sincere apology for your loss."
Earl wrote that she would work to be a better person and hope and pray they would forgive her.
McCormack said family members present did not want to comment for the sentencing.
While Villa was reviewing traumas in Earl's life, prior to Wilson sentencing Earl, a woman in the gallery said, "I'm sorry. At the end of the day, (Earl's) as much responsible as anyone else in this case" and walked out of the courtroom.
The murder of Christopher Turner
According to charging documents in the murder case and what McCormack said at a bond hearing for one of the co-defendants, Earl lured Turner to an apartment with a promise of a "threesome" sexual encounter.
McCormack, last November during Earl's plea hearing, told Wilson that if the case had gone to trial, the state would have shown a surveillance system at a gas station across from Earl's apartment showed her and Turner entering the home on Jan. 20, 2019. McCormack said that 24 minutes later, two people with face coverings entered and gunfire was heard.
Police found four bullet holes in the apartment in the 1000 block of West Washington Street in Hagerstown's West End and evidence of a slaying, according to earlier Herald-Mail reports.
Turner was known to have cash and drugs, and Earl and others were later seen obviously looking for something in his car, McCormack has said.
When detectives examined Earl's cellphone, they found text messages between her and co-defendant Dakota Daniel Paugh. As a result, Paugh and Arana knew that Turner would be at Earl's apartment. Earl was aware that Paugh and Arana intended to rob Turner, McCormack has said.
During Arana's sentencing in June, defense attorney Jacob Craven acknowledged Arana was present during the incident that led to Turner's death. Craven said the jury found Arana guilty of second-degree murder and other charges, but found him not guilty of first-degree murder and other charges, an indication that the panel was unable to conclude what Arana's role was.
McCormack, during defendant Paugh's plea hearing in June, said that if Paugh's case had gone to trial the prosecution would have presented its theory that a robbery went bad and that Paugh told Arana to shoot Turner.
Defense talks of Earl's 'lifetime of trauma'
Villa had asked Wilson to consider a 20-year sentence, suspending all but "the lower end of the guideline sentence."
That low end, according to sentencing guidelines McCormack had mentioned, would have been five years.
Villa also had asked Wilson to consider Earl's history.
When Earl moved to Hagerstown at age 5, her life was relatively stable, Villa said. When she was 6, her father pleaded to drug charges, an "initial" trauma for Earl, Villa said.
As a youngster, Earl was "either couch surfing or homeless," Villa said. Her mother was not able to find a job and lost income after a "terrible motor vehicle" crash. Earl took on "adult roles" to care for her mother and a sister.
Living in poverty, Earl was bullied as a child as well, Villa said.
Earl also was sexually abused as a child, her attorney said.
Earl has no skills, birth certificate or Social Security card, but has a "lifetime of trauma," Villa said.
Villa said Earl spent part of her detention center time in protective custody and will probably have to be in protective custody in state prison due to active threats, in part because she testified.
Sentencings for other defendants in 2019 Hagerstown homicide
Earl is the last of five defendants to be sentenced in Turner's slaying.
Arana, now 23, of Jefferson, Md., was sentenced to 100 years on four charges for which he was found guilty, including second-degree murder, according to his online court docket. Forty-five of those years were suspended, leaving him with 55 years to serve.
Paugh, now 23, of Hagerstown, was sentenced to 45 years. He pleaded guilty in June to first-degree murder under a deal in which other charges against him were dismissed.
Co-defendant Jordan D. Matthews-Hacket, now 22, of Hagerstown, was sentenced Feb. 25, 2020, to 10 years in prison for his role in helping to dispose of Turner's body. He pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact to first-degree murder.
Co-defendant Nyzeir T. Sampson, now 25, of Frederick County, Md., was sentenced to 20 years in prison, with 10 of those suspended, after pleading guilty on Nov. 17, 2020, to conspiracy to commit armed robbery, according to court records. In exchange for the plea, three counts of being an accessory after the fact against the accused getaway driver were dismissed.
More:Missing Hagerstown man's body found dead in W.Va.; police suspect homicide
More:Police seeking leads in homicide of Hagerstown man
More: Prosecutor says Hagerstown man's body was in bag, dumped from bridge after fatal shooting
More:Three charged in homicide of Hagerstown man
More:Fourth person charged with murdering Hagerstown man
More:Fifth person charged in Turner killing
More:Hagerstown man brought back from New York to face murder charges
More:Hagerstown man gets 10 years for helping dispose of murder victim's body
More:Woman, among 5 charged in death of man dumped in Christmas tree bag, enters plea deal
More:Jury hears testimony in case of man charged in death of victim found in Christmas tree bag
More:Man guilty of 2nd-degree murder in death of Hagerstown man whose body was found in W.Va.
More:Two more get prison in 2019 death of man found in Christmas tree bag in West Virginia
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Hagerstown woman sentenced in case of body found in Christmas tree bag
