Teen charged as an adult gets sentenced 15 years in prison

LaBaron King, 18, was sentenced 15 years in prison in the state of Georgia for shooting his ex-girlfriend’s boyfriend, Jose Gonzalez.

According to media release from District Attorney Brunswick Judicial Circuit, Keith Higgins, Gonzalez was going for a walk and talking on the phone with his girlfriend then he saw King. The two exchanged words until King pulled out a gun.

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King shot Gonzalez in the hip, who then fell to the ground. King ran away then Gonzalez pulled out his gun, tried to shoot King, then missed.

The day after the shooting, King was found by the police at his grandmother’s house, but then ran away and threw the gun in the bushes.

Police were able to find the gun, which was reported stolen from a vehicle in Brunswick, Ga.

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King was 16 years old when he committed the crime but Higgins argued that,

“A teenager who uses a firearm to commit a violent crime should be held fully responsible for their actions by being prosecuted as an adult in Superior Court. The harm caused by the violence is the same regardless of their age. The consequences should be the same.”

—  District Attorney Keith Higgins

King plead guilty to aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during commission of a felony, possession of a handgun by a person under the age of 18, and theft by receiving a firearm.

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The guilty plea was given April 8 but the sentencing was delayed until today.

Glynn County superior court sentenced King 15 years in prison and 15 years on probation.

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