Father of E.B. shooter likely to serve 5 years
BY JESSICA SMITH
Staff Writer

EAST BRUNSWICK - The father of the boy who shot and killed his 12-year-old friend last June is expected to serve prison time after pleading guilty last week to endangering the welfare of a child.

Michael Guerriero would receive a five-year prison sentence under the plea deal reached Friday in state Superior Court. The agreement enables Guerriero to avoid the maximum 10-year sentence.

The two counts of endangerment stem from his failure to keep loaded guns secured from his 11-year-old son, who accidentally shot and killed his friend in the family's Kingswood Station townhome.

"The Guerrieros didn't take step one to make sure the house was safe for the child, let alone any other child," said Middlesex County Assistant Prosecutor Nicholas Sewitch.

The sentencing will take place Jan. 26, under the jurisdiction of Superior Court Judge Dennis Nieves, who also presided over Friday's proceedings.

The second-degree endangerment charge involves Guerriero's legal duty to protect and care for his son, and the third-degree charge deals with the endangerment of Alexander Khoudiakov, the boy who was killed.

Josephine Guerriero, Michael's 72-year-old mother and the shooter's grandmother, will be sentenced to five years of probation for two child endangerment charges. She was home at the time of the June 26 shooting, whereas Michael was at work. She reportedly said she had not been aware of the handguns in the home.

Police found 98 guns in the home, as well as over 1,600 rounds of ammunition, all unsecured. Michael Guerriero reportedly said he did not know that any of the guns, which at one time belonged to his late father, were loaded.

"We believe Mr. Guerriero knew that some of the guns were loaded, but that's not really the issue here," said Sewitch.

The Guerrieros have forfeited their interest in the seized weapons, he added.

Guerriero's son, whose name is being withheld, pleaded guilty to reckless manslaughter and was sentenced Sept. 28 to complete a three-year program at the Bonnie Brae Residential Treatment Center for Adolescent Boys. The shooter's charges were reduced because, although he did intentionally pull the trigger, he was not aware that the gun was loaded.

Alexander died instantly after being shot in the face at close range with a .38-caliber Smith & Wesson revolver. The shooting happened in a bedroom of the Guerriero home.