Men convicted of murdering Mercer County counselor may have chance of parole
Two men convicted of murdering a counselor at a Mercer County juvenile facility when they were just teenagers may now have a chance of being freed from prison someday.
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MERCER, Pa. - Two men convicted of murdering a counselor at a Mercer County juvenile facility when they were just teenagers may now have a chance of being freed from prison someday.
Anthony Machicote and Jeremy Melvin, both 29-years-old, appeared before a Mercer County judge on Friday, where they were re-sentenced to thirty years to life in prison for the 2003 suffocation death of of a counselor at George Junior Republic.
They had originally been sentenced to life without parole for the crime. However, the two were seventeen years old at the time of the murder, and the U.S. Supreme Court has since ruled that it is unconstitutional to sentence juveniles to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
According to court records, in 2003 Machicote and Melvin were housed at George Junior Republic, a facility for delinquent and dependent children in Pine Township.
Authorities say on November 10 of that year, Machicote called night supervisor Wayne Urey, Jr. to his room by faking an illness.
Investigators say Melvin came up behind Urey and locked him in a choke hold while Machicote tied Urey’s legs with a sheet.
Melvin put a sock in Urey’s mouth and tied a sheet around it.
Machicote and Melvin stole Urey’s money, keys, and car and fled from the facility.
Later that day, Machicote and Melvin confessed the crime to a school security guard and turned themselves in to police.
Urey suffocated as a result of the incident.
Since the two began serving their sentences in 2005, they will be eligible for parole in 2035.
At that time Melvin will be 48-years-old and Machicote will be 49.