PENDLETON, Ore. (AP) — A man accused of killing an Oregon corrections officer who stopped to offer roadside help has made a plea deal to avoid the death penalty.
The East Oregonian reported the prosecutor expects 23-year-old Joshua Weeks to face either life in prison without the possibility of parole, or at least 30 years with the possibility of parole.
He’s accused of aggravated murder in the killing of Buddy Herron in November 2011.
Authorities say Herron was on his way to work at Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution and stopped to help Weeks.
Court documents say Weeks tried to take Herron’s truck and stabbed him.
Judge Dan Hill sat a sentence hearing for late July.
The paper said Weeks appeared Wednesday via video from the county jail for a hearing before Hill.
