A 13-year-old boy in Texas has been sentenced to a 12-year prison term for the murder of a Sonic Drive-In employee, as decided by a local judge on Tuesday. This verdict follows a series of evidentiary hearings determining the appropriate sentence for the juvenile, whose identity remains undisclosed due to his age.
Amy Pardo of the Johnson County Attorney’s Office confirmed that the sentence will commence at the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, with a potential future transfer to the adult prison system. The boy faced a range of possible sentences, from probation to 40 years in prison. In October, a jury convicted him for engaging in delinquent conduct, equating to a murder charge in juvenile court, for the fatal shooting in May.
The shooting occurred in the parking lot of a Sonic Drive-In in Keene, about 40 miles southwest of Dallas, where the boy, then 12, used an AR-style rifle to shoot Matthew Davis multiple times. The incident unfolded after Davis confronted the boy’s uncle, Angel Gomez, leading to a physical altercation. Gomez was later indicted on evidence tampering charges, with his case still pending.
Seth Fuller, the boy’s attorney, expressed disappointment with the sentence, citing concerns over the effectiveness of juvenile incarceration in Texas. He emphasized the lack of societal safety improvement resulting from such punitive measures.
The Texas youth prison system has faced numerous scandals, including child abuse and severe understaffing. In 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice launched an investigation into the civil rights conditions in five juvenile facilities, focusing on mental health care and protection from violence. This federal investigation is still in progress.