MONTGOMERY COUNTY — A jury convicted Sterling Roberts for killing a man in front of his three sons in Riverside.
Roberts was found guilty on all counts Wednesday, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
After the verdict was read, defense attorney Jim Fleischer called this case “tough for all involved.”
“We are grateful for the jury’s service and their role in this difficult process. We were happy to learn early in the case that the Government withdrew its request for a death penalty sentence, which we considered a victory. We intend to continue to advocate for Sterling Roberts,” Fleischer said.
Jury deliberation began Tuesday after the conclusion of closing arguments.
Roberts shot and killed Robert “Bobby” Caldwell in 2017 as Caldwell was walking out a family counseling session.
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Roberts was later arrested in South Carolina after being involved in a shootout with deputies there.
An investigation found that Roberts was the boyfriend of Tawney Caldwell, Robert Caldwell’s ex-wife.
Roberts faced a federal murder charge. Federal prosecutors announced they were not seeking the death penalty in this case.
News Center 7 was in court for opening statements on March 9, when U.S. Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Amy Smith presented opening statements. She argued to the jury Robert Caldwell was a problem for Roberts and Tawney Caldwell and that Roberts was there to “fix the problem.”
“Sterling shot Bobby again, and again and again — standing there over him, he fired more than 12 shots,” Smith said in court.
Malarcik, argued on March 9 that Roberts was not the person who killed Robert Caldwell.
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“Tawney Caldwell hired, threatened, coerced someone to kill Bobby Caldwell,” Malarcik said. “That person is not Sterling Roberts.”
Malarcik argued that Tawney Caldwell thought Roberts was “either too scared or too stupid to kill” Robert Caldwell and had a backup plan.
Malarcik claimed Tawney Caldwell was the mastermind, stating she had just lost a long and bitter custody dispute involving their three son. The prosecution agreed with that claim, but insisted it was Roberts who pulled the trigger.
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