Two students found guilty in plot to kill teacher

Jefferson County Juvenile Court Judge Ben Strand on Friday found Maury Middle School students Robbie Norton, 14, and Dustin Taylor, 12, guilty of delinquency by reason of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.

Norton and Taylor plotted to kill teacher Carole Talley, according to testimony. On Aug. 25, Norton brought two guns to school that he had stolen from his uncle and guardian, Charles Norton, along with $200 in getaway money.

The boys abandoned their plan when they discovered Talley was absent from school that day and their plan was discovered when Norton accidentally shot a third student, Daniel Scarlett, 12, in the leg in a school bathroom when he showed Scarlett the gun.

Scarlett also had been charged with conspiracy, but Strand dismissed that charge. Scarlett pleaded guilty during the hearing to accessory to weapons possession.

Scarlett’s attorney, Rick Scroggins, successfully argued that the boy was clueless about his friends’ murder plot and only went to the bathroom to check out the gun he learned earlier that morning Taylor had.

“I thought his rulings were proper,” District Attorney General Al Schmutzer Jr. said. “We knew we were weak” in Scarlett’s case.

Assistant Public Defender Ron Smith and defense attorney Chris Brown insisted the plot was nothing more than talk and the two boys never intended to carry it out.

Both Norton and Taylor pointed fingers of blame at each other, but agreed on key details of the events leading up to the murder plot.

Norton claimed he was angry because Talley was “telling something that wasn’t true” about him. Taylor testified Talley had fussed at him for not tying his shoes tightly enough.

Strand set an Oct. 25 sentencing date for the trio. He could place them on probation, order them to serve a particular sentence or order them held indefinitely.

Because the three boys are juveniles, they can only be held until age 19.