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Man enters plea for brother's killing
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
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Nearly a year after a Port Republic man was accused of shooting and killing his brother at his home, he entered a plea to the murder.
Ricky Salvatore, 50, of Port Republic entered an Alford plea to first-degree murder in the Calvert County Circuit Court on May 14 signing documents acknowledging that the plea "carries a maximum punishment of life imprisonment."
An Alford plea does not admit guilt, but agrees the state could prove the charges.
Salvatore was indicted on June 16, 2008, for the murder of his brother, Robert Chris Salvatore, who was shot and killed on June 1 at a residence the two shared in Port Republic.
Through investigations, police learned that Ricky Salvatore allegedly shot his brother several times in the chest and neck with a rifle while his brother was sitting in a folding chair outside of the residence watching T.V., court documents stated.
Ricky Salvatore, who admitted using marijuana cigarettes dipped in PCP and drinking beer prior to the incident, said he did not recall getting the gun or firing it, according to court records. Evidence included a rifle that was confiscated during a search by police and a statement from Ricky Salvatore's wife, who told police that she was at the residence at the time of the shooting, and did not see her husband shoot his brother, but told police she knew her husband shot him.
Attorney Robert Harvey Jr. of Prince Frederick entered a plea of not criminally responsible on Aug. 8, 2008, for Salvatore, but after a mental health status report, the court found Salvatore competent to stand trial and the NCR plea was withdrawn.
Salvatore, who has been held at the Calvert County Detention Center despite the court granting him a bond of 100 percent cash or property value of $350,000, is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 25 after the completion of a presentence investigation.
