18-year-old Decatur man pleads guilty in nephew’s death

DECATUR, Ill. (AP) - An 18-year-old Decatur man has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of his 2-year-old nephew.

The (Decatur) Herald and Review reports that Zachary M. Pherigo entered the plea Wednesday in Macon County court. He also pleaded guilty to aggravated discharge of a firearm and obstruction of justice. He’s to be sentenced June 6.

Pherigo was 17 at the time of the October shooting and had been charged as an adult with first-degree murder. He is held on $500,000 bond in the Macon County jail. He previously was held at the Peoria County Juvenile Detention Center.

Authorities say toddler Justin Lee Murphy Jr. was fatally shot in his torso. Decatur police say Pherigo told them he was babysitting the boy and they were playing “cops and robbers” when the shooting occurred.

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Information from: Herald & Review, http://www.herald-review.com