Boy, 15, Sentenced in Shooting, Hostage-Taking

A 15-year-old high school student from Anaheim, who shot a boy in the face while holding his drama class hostage last fall, was sentenced to what could amount to more than nine years in custody Thursday after pleading guilty to charges ranging from attempted murder to false imprisonment.

Cordell L. (Cory) Robb was placed in the custody of the California Youth Authority, which will conduct mental examinations of him before deciding whether he should be sent to a state hospital for treatment.

“We want to give him a chance to live a productive life,” said Robb’s mother, Katherine McAfee, after the sentence was announced. “He has emotional problems, and I hope he gets the help he needs.”

Robb sat handcuffed and clad in a blue T-shirt and jeans as he calmly responded, “Yes,” when Orange County Juvenile Court Judge Robert B. Hutson asked him if he was guilty of attempting to kill the classmate at Loara High School on Oct. 6 while holding other students hostage.

The victim of the shooting, 15-year-old Anthony Lopez, was discharged from the hospital the day after the incident.

Under the agreement reached between Robb’s lawyer and Orange County prosecutors, Robb pleaded guilty to attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, false imprisonment and possession of a firearm on the school grounds. The judge sentenced him to 14 years, but noted that under California law, the youth authority can only hold him until he reaches age 25. Thus, the effective sentence is nine-plus years.

Gary L. Proctor, the private attorney appointed to represent Robb, said he hopes the youth authority will move his client to Napa State Hospital in Northern California, where he can receive treatment for what Proctor said psychiatrists have diagnosed as schizophrenia. Proctor said Robb suffered from schizophrenia at the time of the shooting and continues to hear voices and obey what he believes are “audio and visual commands.”