What did Devon Arthurs do? Florida neo-nazi accused of killing two roommates pleads guilty

Devon Arthurs, a former member of a neo-Nazi group, has pleaded guilty to killing his two Florida roommates in 2017. Arthurs had originally planned to use the insanity defense but abruptly changed course and took the plea deal, according to court records. As part of the deal, he will serve a 45-year prison sentence and 15 years probation, avoiding the possibility of a life sentence, ABC reported.

Disclaimer: This article concerns violence and shooting. Readers' discretion is advised.

The motive behind the killings was reportedly due to Devon Arthurs' conversion to Islam, which his roommates had ridiculed. The victims were in their late teens or early twenties at the time of their deaths.

Devon Arthurs told police that all three men had been members of a small, mostly online neo-Nazi group called the Atomwaffen Division. Inside the apartment, authorities found guns, ammunition, as well as a framed picture of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh on a bedroom dresser. Atomwaffen is German for "nuclear weapons," as per NBC.

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Devon Arthurs killed his roommates with an assault-style rifle

At the time of the killings, Devon Arthurs, 24, Jeremy Himmelman, 18, and Andrew Oneschuk, 22, were roommates at The Hamptons at Tampa Palms Apartments in Tampa, Florida. Arthurs, who had converted to Islam, shot and killed his roommates with an assault-style rifle after they ridiculed him for changing his religion.

He then went to a nearby smoke shop, holding an employee and two shoppers hostage until the police arrived.

Devon Arthurs to spend over 45 years in prison as part of a plea deal (Image via Fox35)

When police began investigating the murder, they found bomb-making materials, including the highly explosive substance HMTD, several pounds of ammonium nitrate, and homemade fuses.

When questioned, Devon Arthurs revealed that the group had planned terrorist attacks, possibly against nuclear plants. In a statement after his arrest, he also claimed to have prevented the deaths of a lot of people. When questioned about why his roommates would plan such an attack, he said:

"Because they want to build a Fourth Reich."

Devon Arthurs was declared incompetent to stand trial in 2018 and again in 2020, resulting in multiple delays while he received treatment for the same. Finally, in June 2022, a Hillsborough County judge determined that Arthurs had restored his mental capacity sufficiently for the trial to begin.

In court, Arthurs promised to live his life fighting extremist hate groups and helping people battling addiction, he said:

"I feel I can be an advocate against extremism. I'd like to take this moment to tell the world to stay away from extremist groups. ... I'm very sorry for everyone that was involved. I'm very sorry for everything that has happened."

Following Devon Arthurs' appeal, state attorney Suzy Lopez noted that the accused committed a cold and calculated crime, and for that, "he will spend the majority of his life in prison."

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Arthurs third roommate and co-founder of Atomwaffen was also ordered to serve time in jail

Arthurs third roommate and co-founder of Atomwaffen, Brandon Russell, was not home during the killings, but discovered the bodies when he returned from duties with the National Guard. He pleaded guilty in September 2017 to federal charges of possessing illegal firearms and a destructive device, as well as storing explosives illegally, resulting in a 5-year prison term.

However, after his release, he was charged in a new case earlier this year for plotting with a Maryland woman to attack Baltimore's power grid with an intent to cause racial unrest. Prosecutors argued that the plan was to target five substations situated in a ring where majority of the residents were black.

Russell and his co-defendant, Sarah Beth Clendaniel both pleaded not guilty in Maryland federal court and are awaiting trial.