A 20-year-old man who shot and killed a Brooks man pleaded guilty to murder Tuesday morning and was ordered to serve 25 years in prison.
Atilio Delgado was sentenced as part of a plea deal with the state attorney general’s office that will keep him behind bars until after he is 40. Delgado was a few days shy of turning 17 years old when he shot and killed James Cluney, who was 49, in May 2022. Delgado also was ordered to pay $4,500 in restitution to Cluney’s family.
Cluney’s family asked Justice Patrick Larson to impose a longer sentence, but the judge approved a sentence of 25 years that had been jointly recommended by prosecutors and Delgado’s defense attorneys. Larson said that, while he understood their desire to have Delgado serve a longer sentence, he felt 25 years was appropriate and that no amount of time could undo the damage that has been done.
“Nothing I can say here today can ease your pain, and I’m sure you will walk away from this feeling that justice has not been done,” Larson said.
Despite being 16 at the time of the shooting, Delgado’s case was bound over to the adult criminal court system after a judge ruled that the circumstances warranted not treating Delgado as a juvenile. Delgado appealed that decision but the state’s top court upheld it.
According to investigators, Delgado had been dating Cluney’s daughter and was living with the Cluneys when he shot James Cluney on May 6, 2022. Immediately before the shooting, Delgado had been out hunting and, as he was talking to Cluney’s daughter in the driveway, he heard a commotion from the house, officials have said. He then rushed up to the house when Cluney opened the door, Larson said Tuesday.
“Mr. Cluney answered the door and said something along the lines of, ‘I just popped your brother,’” the judge said. “[Delgado] told one of the counselors that he was defending his brother, but there is no indication that his brother needed defending. After that statement was made, he pulls out the gun, he levels it at Mr. Cluney, and he fires six shots into Mr. Cluney.”
Delgado shot Cluney in the chest, leg and torso, police have said. Cluney’s wife, Billie-Jo Cluney, tried to revive him via CPR while waiting for an ambulance to arrive but was unsuccessful.
What wasn’t clear, the judge said, is “where the anger came from.”
Delgado had obtained a “ghost gun” by buying parts of the gun online with Visa gift cards and later assembling it himself after watching YouTube videos, according to prosecutors.
Delgado addressed the court at his sentencing, saying he “never wanted to hurt or cause pain to anyone” in having the gun. He said he would rebuild his life and “do better than he did yesterday” while serving time in prison.
Delgado’s defense attorneys cited Delgado’s age, lack of independence and life experience, unstable home earlier in his life, and plans to continue his education in recommending the 25-year sentence. They said that Delgado had, just before the incident, discovered a love of music and started learning to play guitar with eventual ambitions to go to school for music.
Cluney’s surviving family — wife Billie-Jo, daughter Lexi, and son Kyle — addressed the court through their personal attorney Peter Richard. Richard, speaking on behalf of his clients, told the judge that their lives had been irreparably changed following the death of their father and husband.
“This was no accident,” Richard said. “The family home he built is struggling without his presence.”
Cluney will never get to walk his daughter down the aisle on her wedding day or meet his grandchildren, among other things, and has missed several other milestones already, Richard said.
Assistant Attorney General Kate Boseman said the state originally considered recommending a sentence of 40 years, but agreed to 25 years as part of the plea agreement.
“This is a compromise, and it is one that is in no way meant to reflect a number that is satisfactory for taking a person’s life,” Boseman said.
Correction: An earlier version of this story included an incorrect dollar amount that Delgado was ordered to pay in restitution.