Guilty plea entered in 2009 murder case

Published 5:27 pm Wednesday, November 30, 2011

One of the two men charged in a 2009 murder pleaded guilty Wednesday.

Joshua Ready pleaded guilty to murder in Chilton County Circuit Court in front of Judge Ben Fuller, and his plea agreement was for 30 years in prison, Deputy District Attorney C.J. Robinson said.

Ready will be sentenced on Dec. 14, at which time the case against co-defendant Christopher Kroeger will be revisited.

Kroeger, 21 at the time of his arrest on Dec. 27, 2009, and Ready, 18, were charged with murder after Chilton County Sheriff’s Department deputies found the body of Steven Dorough burning.

It was determined Dorough, 18, of Marbury, died from a gunshot wound before he was set ablaze.

Kroeger’s residence was in Prattville, and Ready is from Montgomery.

Both men originally entered not guilty pleas after they were indicted. Robinson said Ready’s plea could make Kroeger and his legal representation consider changing his plea also.

“Sometimes that changes the game, and sometimes it doesn’t,” Robinson said. “We’re still prepared to go to trial.”