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Over the objections of members of the victim’s family, a judge Tuesday sentenced an 18-year-old El Cajon man to the California Youth Authority for first-degree murder.

James Leithoff, also known as James Williams, was given an indeterminate sentence by San Diego Superior Court Judge Thomas Duffy instead of a state prison term.

Leithoff pleaded guilty Monday to first-degree murder of Carlton Smith, 54, of El Cajon, who was shot to death Sept. 27, 1986, in Alpine.

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The victim’s widow, Shirley Smith, pleaded with Duffy to send Leithoff to prison. She became hysterical and was escorted outside by her daughters and a bailiff.

“You had no right to kill him!” Smith yelled at Leithoff.

“I want him back! He killed him! He killed my husband!” she shouted.

Duffy followed the recommendation of the prosecutor, Bob Boles, who urged the CYA sentence.

Leithoff’s attorney, Milton Silverman, said his client believed that Smith was blackmailing his parents over the 1985 slaying of his grandfather, Alfred Summers, 57, of El Cajon.

Boles told the judge that Smith knew “something” about the unsolved killing.

“What he knew, we’ll never know,” Boles said.

Silverman said Leithoff believed that Smith had killed Summers--an accusation Smith’s widow and family members angrily denied. Silverman said Leithoff can be rehabilitated.

The prosecutor said CYA would normally keep Leithoff until age 25 but could release him sooner. The crime occurred when Leithoff was 17 and the Juvenile Court ordered him tried as an adult.

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