Probation given teen who shot sister

Beth Slovic

Wednesday, June 16, 2004 | 9:38 a.m.

A 16-year-old boy who said he accidentally shot his sister to death while playing with his brother-in-law's gun was sentenced in Juvenile Court on Tuesday to probation and 200 hours of community service.

The boy, a high school student in 10th grade, had pleaded guilty May 10 to involuntary manslaughter after prosecutors agreed to move his case from Las Vegas Justice Court to Juvenile Court. Prosecutors had initially charged the boy with murder as an adult, as Nevada law requires.

"I really feel bad for what happened," the boy told Judge William Voy in court Tuesday. "I want to apologize to my mom, my sisters, and my family."

The judge sentenced the teen to supervised probation until the age of 18 and unsupervised probation until the age of 21. He had been under house arrest since May 11 and likely will have to repeat his sophomore year because he has not been in school.

The boy is prohibited from owning a gun until he turns 21, and he will not be permitted to apply for a driver's license, unless at a later date he tells the court he needs one for a job. He must also continue grief counseling at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Family Project.

The judge also ordered the boy to return to court Sept. 28 for a status check. At that time, the judge said he would consider how the boy would spend his community service hours and whether he would be required to participate in the Coroner's Visitation Program, a tour of the coroner's office that is intended to scare children and teach them about risky behavior.

Hoping that the boy might be able to share his story with other young people, the judge asked him to consider public speaking as part of his community service hours.

"Something good has to come of this," Voy said.

Family members of the teen dabbed tears from their eyes during the 15-minute court proceeding Tuesday. The boy's mother said she was at work on the afternoon of March 29 when her son accidentally shot his 14-year-old sister.

The husband of one of the boy's older sisters had brought the gun to the home earlier that day. The boy said his younger sister had been pointing the gun at him when he took it from her, pointed it at her, and it fired.

No charges have been filed against the owner of the gun.

"Though you caused this to happen, there are others who should be standing in an adult court facing criminal charges," the judge told the boy.