Published Tuesday, March 21, 2000
SHARON
Defense claims Fuller was framed for murder
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DA’s motives: Gangs, drugs or revenge
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TRIAL BEGINS FOR MAN ACCUSED IN BOY’S DEATH
By Hal Johnson
Herald Writer
Thirteen-year-old Jeremy Farrand’s death could have been a gang slaying or the result of drug deal gone wrong, but it’s more likely Ronald L. Fuller shot the boy to avenge a friend charged with robbery, Assistant District Attorney Timothy R. Bonner argued Monday.
Fuller’s court-appointed defense attorney Wayne Hundertmark countered Bonner’s theory with his own: Fuller didn’t kill Jeremy. Instead, Fuller was set up to take the fall by the friend Bonner says Fuller was avenging and another man, Hundertmark said.
The lawyers gave opening statements in Fuller’s murder trial Monday in Mercer County Judge Michael J. Wherry’s courtroom. Jurors also toured the 575 Prindle St. house in Sharon where the boy was killed May 29 and the working class neighborhood.
Fuller, 24, Farrell, is charged with first- and third-degree murder, burglary, possessing a prohibited offensive weapon and possessing instruments of crime. If he’s convicted of first-degree murder, Fuller could be sentenced to death or life imprisonment.
According to Bonner, at about 1 a.m. May 29, Fuller entered Jeremy’s home and “discharged a sawed-off shotgun into a vital part of his body, striking him in the neck and killing him.”
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