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A Washington County man who shot and killed his neighbor will spend at least 16 years — and possibly the rest of his life — in prison for the crime.
Joshua David Canfield, 20, of Toquerville, pleaded guilty in January to first-degree felony murder in the March 2014 death of 58-year-old Geraldine Bommarito.
He also pleaded guilty to first-degree felony aggravated robbery, along with lesser charges of arson, vehicle theft and assault on a police officer stemming from a crime spree that preceded the woman's death.
For the murder, 5th District Judge John Walton on Thursday handed down a 15-year-to-life sentence, along with an additional year for a state-mandated weapons enhancement. The prison sentences ordered for the remaining charges will run concurrent to the murder sentence, defense attorney Edward Flint said Friday.
Flint said the sentencing was already agreed upon when his client took a plea deal earlier this year. He said Canfield — who was 17 years old when he killed Bommarito — expressed remorse in court during Thursday's sentencing.
"He repeated that he was sorry for what he did," Flint said. "He feels like he is a different person now."
Drugs and mental illness were factors in the crimes, according to the defense attorney. He said Canfield — who was charged as an adult — was severely depressed on March 18, 2014, when he tried to commit suicide by overdosing. When he woke up and realized he hadn't succeeded, he went on a crime spree, Flint said.
At some point, he ended up at his neighbor's home. Canfield said the teenager was friends with Bommarito, and had mowed her lawn and baked cookies for her in the past.
"He knocked on her door late at night, and said, 'It's me, Josh, and I made cookies for you,' " Flint said. "And that's how he got her to open the door."
After Bommarito opened the door, Canfield fired the gun and killed the woman, Flint said.
Washington County sheriff's deputies found Bommarito's body on March 19 while investigating an unrelated burglary at a Toquerville home, where two firearms and collectible coins were taken that morning.
While investigating the burglary, deputies identified the teen — who was Bommarito's neighbor — as a possible suspect. Earlier on March 19, the teen was seen at a convenience store in Washington City, where he made a purchase using coins consistent with those taken in the burglary, according to charging documents.
Witnesses provided a vehicle description and license plate number for the vehicle driven by the suspect, which investigators traced back to Bommarito, the registered owner. Police later found a burned car in a remote area of Springdale which they believed was Bommarito's.
After Canfield was charged with the crimes, Flint said that he fought for a year before getting his client into the Utah State Hospital for mental health treatment. He was deemed incompetent to stand trial at one point, but a judge ruled in December that Canfield was competent to proceed with the case.
Canfield was diagnosed and medicated for mental illness for the first time while at the state hospital, according to Flint. The defense attorney said the young man had struggled with mental illness for most of his life, and tried to commit suicide the first time when he was 12 years old.
But the first decision that Canfield made once he had received treatment and could think clearly was to decide to plead guilty to the crimes, Flint said.
"He didn't hold out for a better deal," Flint said. "He said, 'I want to plead guilty.' "
Flint said that since his client was diagnosed and treated, Canfield has had a different attitude and behavior and has started acting like the person that his parents, siblings and friends had known him to be.
"This was a failure to get him help when he was a kid," Flint said. "And he ended up killing somebody ... "
jmiller@sltrib.com Twitter: @jm_miller