ANCHORAGE — A teenager pleaded guilty Friday to first-degree murder after acknowledging that he killed his foster father two years ago because the man had taken away his vapor cigarette charger.
Peter Henry, 18, entered his plea in Anchorage Superior Court to fatally shooting Marvell Johnson, 64, a long-time foster parent and host of “Soul to Soul,” a music show on public radio station KSKA-FM for nearly 40 years.
A plea agreement calls for a sentence of 80 years in prison with 20 years suspended, leaving 60 years to serve, state prosecutors announced.
Sentencing is scheduled for March 30. Superior Court Judge Kevin Saxby accepted the plea but can reject terms of the agreement with prosecutors.
Henry, who was 16 when Johnson died, was charged as an adult.
In the criminal complaint, police detective Monique Doll said the investigation began Oct. 7, 2014, when a boy in the same house as Henry and Johnson told a school police officer that Henry had shot Johnson overnight.
Police drove to Johnson’s east Anchorage home and found him dead in an upstairs bedroom. An autopsy determined he had been shot in the neck, chest, forearm, torso and back.
The juvenile witness told police that Johnson had grounded Henry for using spice, a synthetic drug, according to the complaint that does not name the witness.
He told police he awoke to gunshots. He said Henry acknowledged shooting Johnson, handed over a gun, instructed the juvenile to dispose of it in a nearby creek and threatened to kill him if he told anyone, the complaint states.
In an interview with police, Henry told investigators he had stolen ammunition for the gun from a department store. Detectives verified the theft with surveillance video.
Henry also confirmed to police that he was angry because Johnson had searched his room and taken the vape charger.
The complaint says Henry told investigators he shot Johnson and stole cash along with Johnson’s wallet, iPad, watch and phone.
He told police he threw the contents of Johnson’s wallet in front of the home to make it appear as if Johnson had been shot during a robbery. Police found the iPad in Henry’s backpack and the youth told investigators he had planned to sell it.
