A 14 year old boy was charged with murder by police in Houston today, a charge that could conceivably end up with the boy in prison for the rest of his long life, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
Houston Police say the teenager was illegally driving an SUV at a high rate of speed down Aldine Westfield Road in north Houston on New Year's Day when he ran a stop light and slammed into a pickup truck being driven by Silvia Zavala, 45. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police say the teenager and two other teens in the GMC Arcadia were throwing eggs at other motorists, and one of the other drivers apparently decided to try to chase them down. He was pursuing the teens in his Lincoln, armed with a semi-automatic handgun.
But police say the fact that he was being chased did not give the boy the right to disregard the traffic signal. An officer said Zavala was driving home from shopping and was 'completely innocent.'
The teenaged boy has been ordered held in the Harris County Juvjile Detention Facility.The U.S. Supreme Court in 2005 blocked the execution of people for murders committed while they were under 18. Experts say it is likely that the boy will receive a stiff sentence but short of life in prison, along with psychiatric testing and other counseling.
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