Fullerton : Youth Sentenced to CYA for Slaying His Father
A Fullerton teen-ager was sentenced Friday to the California Youth Authority for the shooting death of his father last March.
Calling the case “tragic,” Superior Judge James F. Judge technically sentenced 17-year-old Donald Frank Coday to 25 years to life, plus an additional two years. But by committing Coday to the CYA, the judge made Coday eligible for release in eight years or less, according to prosecutor Mel Jensen.
The CYA can only hold prisoners until they reach age 25, according to Jensen.
A 90-day diagnostic study conducted by the CYA recommended against a state prison sentence.
Coday admitted shooting his father, Rex Coday, 47, eight times as his father opened the door to the family home on March 23. The teen-ager said he was facing punishment by his mother and that his father always backed her up. The shooting, he said, followed years of physical and emotional abuse by both parents.
But during a non-jury trial, Judge said the shooting was clearly a case of premeditated murder.
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