Two juveniles involved in the pipe bomb explosion that killed Miami University sophomore Daniel Ferraro in January were sentenced Tuesday, April 22.
The 14- and 15-year-old boys must perform 75 hours of community service and write letters to the Ferraro family, Ferraro's neighbors on Apache Way and the township of West Chester.
The juveniles pled guilty to a charge of attempted negligent homicide, which is a second-degree misdemeanor, according to attorney Mike Gmoser, who represented the 15-year-old. The two originally faced felony charges of involuntary manslaughter and manufacturing a bomb, Gmoser said.
Daniel's father, Tony Ferraro, said he told Butler County Juvenile Court Judge Ronald Craft that the two juveniles should be held responsible for their actions in the incident.
"The point I made to the Judge was that the two juveniles were the trigger point that started the series of events that resulted in the death of Daniel," Ferraro said via e-mail. "One of them called Robby Moser repeatedly asking him to 'buy me gunpowder.'"
He said he felt the sentence wasn't stern enough.
"I felt more than 75 community service hours were warranted," Ferraro said, adding that he requested that letters of apology be written.
However, Gmoser said the outcome of the trial was appropriate.
"I thought it was more than ample punishment," Gmoser said. "I thought it was an acceptance of responsibility for the minimal involvement of the juveniles."
Gmoser said he thought the adults were majorly responsible for the incident.
"It was presented to the court in discovery proceedings by the prosecution that the juveniles inquired of the two adults-Daniel Ferraro and Robert Moser-'Is this safe, is this legal?' and the answer was, 'Yea, it is. Don't worry about it,'" Gmoser said. "So we have the adults making decisions advising juveniles that this was OK. So you have to consider who's in charge and who is, after all, the adult. The ones who had the responsibility (of) being adults had to obligation to say, 'No, we're not doing this.'"
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Gmoser said the responsibility of the incident should not be shared equally between the adults and the juveniles involved.
"It's not a case where there should be equal shared responsibility," Gmoser said. "I think the responsibility falls on the shoulders of the adults in the case. Adults have the responsibility to say no if youngsters think of an idea (like this)."
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