Federal prosecutors here have agreed to a reduced sentence of 25 years for a man who admits he committed the 1998 shooting murder of an Army helicopter pilot at the Waianae Army Recreation Center.

They also agreed to drop the murder charge against a co-defendant and agreed that he also serve a 25-year sentence for two convictions related to the shooting.

In court papers, federal prosecutors explained that they didn't want to risk a retrial or acquittal in the 8-year-old case.

Bryson Jose and Roberto Miguel originally were sentenced to life in prison without parole after their convictions in the murder of Army Warrant Officer John Latchum Jr.

But a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in July 2003 reversed the murder convictions on a 2-1 vote, saying U.S. District Judge Helen Gillmor made a mistake in not allowing the defense to introduce the possibility that someone else fired the shot that killed Latchum.

The appellate court sent the case back for a retrial, setting up the proposed agreements with the two men.

Prosecutors explained the proposed agreement in court documents, saying that after eight years the "recollection of witnesses will have diminished," and that there are "issues with the availability and/or credibility of certain witnesses," according to court filings.

Prosecutors determined that "proceeding to retrial risks the possibility of an acquittal or a mistrial," according to the filings.

Under the sentencing agreement, the government would drop the pursuit of a felony murder conviction against Jose, who would still be sentenced to 15 years for robbery and 10 years for possessing an unregistered firearm, the maximum terms for those convictions. Jose would also face up to $500,000 in fines.

The robbery and firearm charges are related to the shooting.

Also under the plea agreement, Miguel pleads guilty to second-degree murder and carrying the gun that killed Latchum. In addition to serving 25 years in prison, he faces $250,000 in fines.

A conviction for felony murder brings with it a sentence of life without the possibility of parole.

The deals, agreed upon by federal prosecutors and defense attorneys, are still pending approval from the court.

Latchum's wife, Wendy, who lives in Florida, did not immediately answer telephone calls yesterday.

Latchum's father, John Latchum Sr., himself an Army veteran who spent 11 years repairing and maintaining helicopters, said the proposed agreement is unjust.

Reached by phone at his home in Bear, Del., Latchum Sr. said the defendants probably won't serve the full 25-year sentence because they might get credit for time served.

"I don't think they should ever get out," he said. "I think they should spend the rest of their lives in jail. They are only going to do it again."

On the night of June 3, 1998, Latchum Jr. and his wife were vacationing at the recreation center with their two children. Latchum was awakened by his wife who thought she heard someone trying to break in.

SINGLE SHOT FIRED

According to a 1998 federal criminal complaint, Miguel admitted he was with several friends at the recreation center and had a .22-caliber rifle the night Latchum was shot.

According to the complaint, Miguel said he fired a single shot toward Latchum at Jose's urging after the Army pilot yelled at him and the others.

Wendy Latchum heard the door lock to their cabin being jiggled at about 1 a.m. and saw eight people on the lanai, the complaint said.

She yelled at the group, and they ran to a wooded area near the beach, it said.

John Latchum Jr. awoke and yelled at the group from the lanai. Wendy Latchum reported hearing what she thought was a firecracker, and that her husband told her he had been shot. He was shot once in the chest with a .22-caliber rifle.

The bullet pierced his heart and he died on the cabin's front porch.

Miguel admitted traveling to the center with a sawed-off rifle in his pants with five other youths "for the purpose of 'arming' or committing robbery," according to court documents.

"In response to John Latchum's shouts, defendant Roberto Miguel pointed the rifle at John Latchum," according to the documents.

Miguel then "fired a single shot. Defendant acknowledges, that in firing the rifle he acted with malice," according to the court documents. Miguel initially confessed to the killing and was also identified by two of the five boys he was with as the shooter, according to court documents.

Jose, who was 20 when John Latchum was shot, and Miguel, who was 17, were sentenced after being convicted of murder in 2000.

APPEAL UPHELD

The defense appeal was based on grounds that a shell casing from the rifle that fired the fatal shot was found 114 feet from the cabin. However, prosecution witnesses said Jose and Miguel, whom prosecutors said was the gunman, were 30 to 40 feet from the cabin.

When defense attorneys argued that one of the witnesses — and not Miguel — may have fired the rifle, Gillmor said there was no evidence of that and instructed the jury to discount it.

In not allowing the defense to present such an argument during closing remarks, the appeals court said, Gillmor incorrectly determined there was no evidence supporting the idea that a witness was the gunman.

The appeals court also said Gillmor erred in determining Miguel's attorney did not have a good-faith basis to offer such an argument because he'd stated in earlier proceedings that Miguel was the gunman.

A prosecution witness testified during the trial that Jose and Miguel were part of a group of a half dozen Wai'anae youths who spent the hours leading up to Latchum's death drinking beer, smoking marijuana and shooting at a bank surveillance camera with the same gun that was later used to shoot Latchum.

The group also beat and robbed another man of a backpack shortly before Latchum was killed.

Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.