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Plea deal is reached

Richard Neyman
Guilty plea to manslaughter

Richard Neyman might have believed his life was in danger the night he shot and killed Craig Haas at the city man’s house. But his belief was unreasonable.

“Nothing justifies the death of Mr. Haas,” said Assistant District Attorney Mark Lope, who on Monday crafted a plea agreement with Neyman. “But we thought this was an appropriate resolution based on the evidence and the witnesses.”

Neyman pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, a first-degree felony. In exchange, he will face 7½ to 15 years in prison when he’s sentenced May 6 by Butler County Judge Timothy McCune.

Under the section of the law Neyman pleaded to, voluntary manslaughter is defined as: “(the defendant) intentionally or knowingly kills an individual committing voluntary manslaughter if, at the time of the killing he believes the circumstances to be such that if they existed would justify the killing. But this belief is unreasonable.”

Neyman, 38, of Butler, appeared in court wearing a tie and dress slacks as his trial was scheduled to begin Monday morning.

Attorneys brokered the agreement minutes after the last of 16 jurors, who were picked last week, arrived at the courthouse. Neyman’s trial had been expected to last about a week and include about 25 witnesses.

Neyman made no statements in court except to tell the judge he understood the arrangement and wished his attorneys had visited him more to talk about the case during the 2½ years he’s been awaiting trial.

Public defender Charles Nedz, one of two attorneys representing Neyman, after court said accepting the plea offer was in Neyman’s best interest because Neyman could have faced life in prison if the jury had convicted him of first-degree murder.

As part of his plea, Neyman doesn’t argue that he shot and killed Haas, 45, on Sept. 27, 2012. Neyman at the time of the shooting reportedly told investigators that he’d gone to Haas’ apartment in search of his girlfriend. When he arrived, Neyman allegedly claimed he was attacked by Haas and a .38-caliber revolver that Neyman had went off, fatally shooting Haas in the chest.

Nedz said had the case gone to trial, Neyman would have asserted the killing was in self-defense.

Nedz said Neyman would have told the jury that when he arrived at Haas’s apartment he heard a woman inside in distress. He mistakenly believed the female voice was his girlfriend, and he would have testified that he heard her call for help, Nedz said.

Neyman knocked on the door. And as he and Haas argued, the woman inside the apartment, left, Nedz said. Neyman would have claimed that when the woman left, Haas became enraged to the point that he attacked Newman and he believed his life was in danger. Haas was shot in the chest.

However prosecutors have a slightly different theory of what happed.

Lope said, “It was our belief that Mr. Neyman was being ignored by his former girlfriend and he went looking for her. Unfortunately for Mr. Haas, his apartment was the last known place that Neyman knew she had been.”

The victim’s family did not appear in court.

Lope told McCune the Haas family was in the courthouse, and asked the judge to immediately sentence Neyman so that they could speak. However, the judge agreed to Neyman’s request for a delay so that he could think about the statement he would like to give in court.

The family will be given an opportunity to speak at that time.

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