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York Dispatch
March 8, 2014
Convicted teen killer Jordan Wallick has won a new sentencing hearing, meaning he could possibly avoid spending the rest of his life in prison.
On Wednesday, the state Superior Court agreed with defense attorney Dawn Cutaia’s argument that an automatic life sentence without parole for Wallick was unconstitutional because he was 15 at the time he murdered law student James Wallmuth III.
Cutaia also argued Wallick deserved a new trial on several legal grounds, but the Superior Court disagreed.
“I am thrilled that my client is going to get a new sentencing hearing,” she told The York Dispatch. “We will be putting on extensive testimony to illustrate why Jordan should not be sentenced to life.”
Kyle King, spokesman for the York County District Attorney’s Office, said it was premature for prosecutors to comment on the appellate court’s ruling because they had just received it and must review it.
The murder: Wallmuth was sitting on a park bench near the corner of Grant Street and West Clarke Avenue in York City on July 28, 2010, talking to his girlfriend on his cellphone, York City Police said.
He was approached by Wallick, who tried to rob him. But when Wallmuth resisted the robbery, Wallick fatally shot him in the back, according to police.
Co-defendant Kenneth Santiago-Curet, 22, testified at Wallick’s trial, admitting he gave the teen the loaded gun and waited nearby for Wallick to commit the stickup. He eventually pleaded guilty to robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery and was sentenced to 15 to 30 years in prison.
Now 19, Wallick was found guilty April 5, 2012, of second-degree murder, robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
‘Accident’: Cutaia argues the jury “clearly believed the shooting was an accident” because they found Wallick not guilty of first-degree murder, which in Pennsylvania is premeditated murder.
“So you have a 15-year-old kid who was given a gun by an adult. The adult loaded the gun and told him to go and rob someone,” Cutaia said. “The adult gets 15 to 30 years (in prison) and the 15-year-old kid gets life. That is crazy — and you can quote me on that.”
Cutaia maintains Santiago-Curet put the murder in motion that night, not her client.
“Jordan deserves less than life (in prison) because of the circumstances of the case,” she said.
Trial judge: Cutaia said she had asked presiding York County Common Pleas Judge Michael E. Bortner to grant Wallick a resentencing hearing after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled automatic life sentences for juvenile murderers are unconstitutional.
Bortner declined to resentence Wallick, saying he would impose the same sentence anyway, according to Cutaia.
In its ruling Wednesday the state Superior Court wrote, “Because Wallick’s mandatory life sentence was unconstitutional, we vacate the judgment of sentence and remand to the trial court for a new sentencing hearing.”
Law student: Wallmuth, 28, of West Manchester Township, worked in the York County District Attorney’s Office for about four years as a case manager, but left his job to attend law school at the University of Pittsburgh. He was back in York to do an internship at a local law firm.
Two other co-defendants, Joshua Edmoundson and Victor Nelson Virola, have been sentenced for their roles in the murder.
Virola, who prosecutors said had the smallest role in the crime, received 11-1/2 to 23 months in county prison. Edmoundson received a total of five to 10 years in prison for his role in the murder and for a burglary spree he was involved in.
