After guilty plea, he gets 40 years for fire that killed teen
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Copyright 2006 Little Rock Newspapers, Inc.
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Little Rock)
WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. - A West Memphis man, initially hailed as a hero for warning residents of an apartment fire last year, admitted in court last week to setting the fire that killed a 15-year-old boy inside, authorities said.
Keltric Gilmer, 19, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, burglary and arson Nov. 22 in Crittenden County Circuit Court just before his trial was to begin. Police had charged Gilmer with capital murder in the death of James “Nick” Wilson, who lived in the apartment on Avondale Circle.
Circuit Judge David Laser sentenced Gilmer to 40 years in prison for first-degree murder, which will run concurrently with a pair of 20-year terms the judge meted out on the burglary and arson counts, West Memphis Assistant police Chief Mike Allen said.
Police have said that Gilmer broke into the apartment at 3 a.m. Sept. 14, 2005, and took several items, including DVDs and computer disks that Wilson’s mother, Stephanie Carter, 40, used for a sign-making business. The youth set two fires in the apartment’s downstairs kitchen, using paper and a lighter, and then fled, Allen said.
“He soon saw the fire raging and he came back,” Allen said.
Gilmer ran to other apartments and warned residents of the fire. Police said that Carter leaped from a second-story window and broke her leg.
Police arrested Gilmer two weeks later after spotting him in an apartment-complex parking lot where a series of automobile break-ins had occurred. Police found stolen items in Gilmer’s backpack, Allen said.
While Gilmer was in custody, a relative turned over to police several DVDs and compact discs with Carter’s name written on them. The relative said these items had been in Gilmer’s possession.
“He eventually confessed to the fire,” Allen said. “He said he didn’t think anyone was in the apartment when he set the fires.”