Local News in Brief : No Defense Offered in Boy’s Gunshot Death
A 25-year-old Sun Valley man pleaded no contest Thursday to felony child endangering on charges of leaving a gun in his car that one teen-age passenger allegedly used to kill another.
Arelio Sepulveda faces a maximum of six years in state prison when he is sentenced on Nov. 20 by Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Alan B. Haber.
According to police, the two teen-agers were riding in a car with Sepulveda in July when he stopped at a Van Nuys market to buy liquor for himself. While Sepulveda was inside, a 14-year-old Van Nuys boy, who has not been identified, picked up the gun and shot and killed Arthur Clemons Jr., 15, of Van Nuys, according to police.
The revolver was not loaded when the youths played with the gun earlier in the day, police said. The 14-year-old is being tried for murder in Sylmar Juvenile Court, but prosecutors said they will recommend a verdict of involuntary manslaughter at the conclusion of testimony.
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