Boy, 14, Guilty of Murder in Shooting of 12-Year-Old Sister
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SANTA ANA — A judge found 14-year-old Richard Hubler guilty of second-degree murder Thursday in the shooting death of his 12-year-old sister during an argument over a telephone.
“You are going to have to face the decision that you are responsible for this act,” Orange County Superior Court Judge Robert E. Thomas told the Anaheim youth.
Hubler, who was already on probation for two earlier gun-related incidents, claimed the June 14 death of his sister, Gema Marie, was accidental.
Prosecutors contended that Hubler deliberately shot his sister during an argument over who could use the telephone, but they sought a second-degree murder conviction because there was no evidence the shooting was premeditated.
The judge found Hubler guilty of second-degree murder under “implied malice” because he should have known the gun might fire.
Hubler faces 15 years to life, with a possible two years added for the use of a gun, at a California Youth Authority facility.
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