SANTA ANA : Murder Charges Against Boy Reduced

A judge on Wednesday eliminated charges of first-degree murder against a 14-year-old Anaheim boy accused of fatally shooting his 12-year-old sister, but he refused to reduce the charges from second-degree murder to involuntary manslaughter.

If convicted, Richard Hubler, who claims he shot his sister, Gema Marie Hubler, by accident at their Anaheim Shores home on June 14, will probably be released from the California Youth Authority between the ages of 19 and 21. A conviction of involuntary manslaughter would have meant no more than two to three years’ confinement, prosecutors say.

A first-degree murder conviction could have meant that Hubler would have remained in custody until he was 25.

Superior Court Judge Robert E. Thomas, hearing the trial in Santa Ana without a jury, is expected to decide Hubler’s fate at the conclusion of closing arguments today.

Deputy Public Defender Sharon Petrosino claims that the shooting was an accident, but at worst no more than involuntary manslaughter. Deputy Dist. Atty. Brent F. Romney counters that Hubler intentionally shot his sister during an argument over use of the telephone. And even if he didn’t, Romney told the court, he knew that the weapon might still be loaded; he had told police that while he was playing with the gun after unloading it, he was surprised when one bullet ejected.

Prosecutors contend that Hubler threw away the gun, bullets and an empty shell casing before calling 911 to try to get help for his sister.