Englishman admits to killing his Guerneville neighbor in 2009

<p>A 38-year-old Englishman admitted first-degree murder charges Thursday in the 2009 strangulation of a Guerneville man over thousands of dollars in cash he kept at his home.</p><p>Under a plea bargain with prosecutors, Andrew Brian Sharkey agreed to serve 32-1/2 years in prison for killing Michael Van Tillman, 67, rather than risking life without parole if convicted at trial.</p><p>“This was an excellent outcome to a terrible crime,” District Attorney Jill Ravitch said. “He will serve every single day, 100 percent of the sentence, before being eligible for parole.”</p><p>The agreement came on the eve of trial in the June 2009 slaying that shocked neighbors in the Russian River community of Guerneville.</p><p>Sharkey, who had been living in Northern California for several years, was tending an indoor marijuana-growing operation adjacent to a converted garage apartment on Orchard Avenue where Tillman lived.</p><p>He found out Tillman kept $30,000 to $40,000 in the apartment and broke in, said Diana Gomez, the chief deputy district attorney handling the case.</p><p>“Mr. Tillman didn't believe in banks,” Gomez said. “He kept all his money at home.”</p><p>As Tillman dozed in a chair, Sharkey slipped a braided steel wire around his neck and strangled him to death, Gomez said. An autopsy revealed he was also stabbed in the neck.</p><p>Sharkey made off with the money and tried to conceal Tillman's whereabouts by moving his truck to another location with the help of his partner in the marijuana garden, Gary Scott, 62.</p><p>But after Tillman's remains began to emit an odor, Sharkey reported the death to police, concocting a story that he was killed by his landlord, Gomez said.</p><p>About the same time Scott, who returned to his home state of Arizona, tipped police that the real killer was Sharkey.</p><p>Sharkey was arrested within days and charged with murder. Scott was charged as an accessory. His sentencing was delayed in an agreement to testify against Sharkey. Sharkey's father, Victor Dada, was also charged as an accessory.</p><p>Police recovered most of the money and a murder weapon, Gomez said.</p><p>In addition to first-degree murder, he admitted the personal use of a deadly weapon — a garrote — and pleaded no contest to felony elder abuse and residential burglary.</p><p>He also admitted a charge of attempting to coerce a 13-year-old into lying in court to create an alibi.</p><p>In exchange for his admissions, prosecutors agreed to drop special circumstances — murder committed during a burglary — that could have brought a life sentence.</p><p>Sharkey's formal sentencing is Jan. 20.</p>