One of the four men accused in the 2004 beating deaths of six people pleaded guilty to murder Thursday. Robert Anthony Cannon, 19, of Deltona, Florida (between Orlando and Daytona) has agreed to testify against the other defendants to avoid the death penalty and now faces life in prison without parole.
Cannon pleaded guilty to 14 charges, including six counts of capital first-degree murder, five counts of abusing a human corpse, one count of armed burglary of a dwelling and one count of a conspiracy to commit a crime. Jerone Hunter and Michael Salas, both 19, and Troy Victorino, the 28-year-old alleged mastermind, also are charged in the deaths.
Investigators say Victorino organized the attack to retrieve an Xbox video game system he lost when he was kicked out of another house. The four allegedly barged into the Deltona home with baseball bats and bludgeoned the victims, ages 17 to 34, and a small dog. The state is seeking the death penalty against Hunter, Salas and Victorino at their Jan. 3 trial.
