The Region : Boy, 13, Gets 12-Year Term

A Juvenile Court judge gave a 13-year-old Quartz Hill boy the maximum sentence--up to 12 years in the California Youth Authority--for killing a neighborhood friend during a dispute over a baseball. The boy, whose name is being withheld because of his age, was sentenced by Judge Michael Burke for the Jan. 31 shooting death of Christopher V. Perea, 12, of Lancaster. The youth, who cried as the sentence was given, pleaded guilty last month to second-degree murder. Sheriff’s investigators said the boys were playing in a bedroom when Perea picked up his playmate’s baseball. Perea ignored the other boy’s plea to put the ball down and walked downstairs. The boy then grabbed a .22-caliber rifle he kept in his room, went to the balcony and opened fire.