Brother of airman charged with Arizona murder gets probation
Samuel Gooch (left) and Mark Gooch
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - The brother of a U.S. Air Force airman charged with murder in northern Arizona has been sentenced to three years of probation in a separate but related case.
Samuel Gooch was sentenced Oct. 5 in Coconino County Superior Court. He had pleaded guilty in August to a reduced charge of facilitation to commit hindering prosecution.
“I realize I made a mistake and I take responsibility for my actions,” Gooch told the court.
Joshua Davidson, the attorney for Gooch, asked the court for one year’s probation because his client had no prior criminal history.
Judge Cathleen Brown Nichols said she believed probation was “appropriate and warranted” but not for one year. She will allow Gooch to serve his probation in his home state of Wisconsin.
Authorities accused Gooch of flying to Arizona from Wisconsin in early May to pick up what he thought was the rifle used in the shooting of 27-year-old Sasha Krause.
(San Juan County Sheriff's Office, NM)
Gooch’s younger brother, Mark Gooch, has pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges in the death of Krause. The 27-year-old woman disappeared from a Mennonite community where she lived near Farmington, New Mexico, and taught Sunday school in mid-January. Her body later was found in the forest outside Flagstaff.
The Coconino County Attorney’s Office has said it does not anticipate entering into plea negotiations in Mark Gooch’s case.
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Samuel Gooch pleaded guilty on August 25 to a reduced charge of facilitation to commit hindering prosecution, which carries a maximum of two years in prison. Under the agreement with prosecutors, Gooch would receive probation.
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