The youngest member of the "preppy bandits" will get out of prison after serving just two and a half years of his life sentence.
Christopher Galli will be 20 when he is released. He was just 17 when he was arrested along with his brother Nathan and cousins Aaron and Adam in connection with a string of robberies and the slaying of Merritt Riordan.Riordan was killed during a robbery of the Green Parrot Cafe. Police believe the aspiring actor was working late when he heard something in the cafe's basement. Riordan was shot and killed in the basement of the private club.
As part of a plea agreement, Galli agreed to testify against his cousins Aaron and Adam Galli, who were charged with the murder. Prosecutors agreed to recommend probation in exchange for his testimony.
After Christopher Galli's testimony, Aaron Galli was convicted of murder by a jury. That verdict was overturned and Aaron Galli won a new trial after Christopher recanted and changed his story.
Because he backed out of the deal by changing his story a number of times, Judge Glen Iwasaki sentenced him to prison for five years to life. He also imposed a five-year enhancement on the sentence because a gun was used in the 1992 robbery Christopher Galli pleaded guilty to.
The Board of Pardons sited Christopher Galli's remorse and acceptance of responsibility as reasons for granting parole. They also noted his age at the time of the crimes and the fact that the prosecution originally recommended probation. He's had no disciplinary problems since he's been in prison.
Aaron Galli pleaded guilty to armed robbery and was also sentenced to prison for five years to life. Prosecutors opted not to re-file murder charges against Aaron Galli and have yet to file charges against his brother, Adam, who was recently arrested after being a fugitive for more than two years.
Christopher Galli will get out of prison on Dec. 12, and was ordered by the Board of Pardons and Parole to participate in intensively supervised parole.
He and his brother, Nathan, have served their sentences in the Iron County facility near Cedar City. Nathan is the only one who hasn't had a parole hearing. He's scheduled to go before the Board of Pardons in January 1996.
Aaron Galli was given his May 1996 parole date last November. He's been housed for months in the prison's minimum security dormitories, Lone Peak, which is at Camp Williams. He's a member of the prison's flame-n-goes, which travel around the state fighting forest fires.
Aaron Galli was also allowed to take weekend furloughs, during one of which he married a woman from Park City, said corrections spokesman Jack Ford. Aaron Galli was moved back to medium security housing when Nathan Galli wrote a letter to the judge who sentenced him asking him to intervene on his behalf with the Board of Pardons.
Nathan Galli offered to help prosecutors with their murder cases against his cousins. Ford said officials were afraid Aaron might flee with the threat of new murder charges.
Prosecutors have said they probably won't file murder charges against Adam Galli unless they get more reliable information. He's in the Salt Lake County Jail awaiting trial on armed robbery charges.