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Florida teen offered plea in teacher shooting

From CNN's Susan Candiotti

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (CNN) -- A Florida teen-ager charged with fatally shooting his favorite teacher last May has been offered a plea deal by state prosecutors, the boy's attorney told CNN Monday.

Robert Udell, the attorney for 14-year-old Nathaniel Brazille, said "an offer has been made and is being considered." Udell would not disclose any details.

He said he must respond to the offer by Wednesday, one week before jury selection is scheduled to begin in West Palm Beach.

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Michael Edmundson, a spokesman for the Palm Beach State Attorney's Office, had this response when asked about the offer: "We're ready for trial."

Edmundson said jury selection is set for April 25.

Udell said talks between prosecutors and his office have been going on for months. He would not say whether the boy's parents were inclined to accept or reject the offer.

Brazille is accused of using is grandfather's .25-caliber handgun to shoot and kill his teacher, Barry Grunow, on the final day of school last May. Grunow was shot in the face -- a shooting captured on a school surveillance camera.

Grunow had sent Brazille home earlier that day for playing with water balloons. Police say Brazille returned with a gun.

The teen-ager has entered a not guilty plea. His attorneys say the gun went off accidentally.

Brazille faces life without parole if convicted of first degree murder. In Florida, a child under the age of 16 convicted of first degree murder cannot be put to death.

While being held in jail without bond, Brazille was also charged with attempted witness tampering.

Authorities say he sent letters to former classmates allegedly asking them to testify in a favorable way if called upon by prosecutors.

Brazille's lawyers contend police and prosecutors misinterpreted those letters.

After filing that charge, authorities say they confiscated additional letters written by Brazille in which he allegedly asks a friend to have a gun waiting for him if he is ever set free.

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