Richard Hubler, 14, Gets 17 Years to Life : Sentencing: He will, however, probably spend no more than seven years in the California Youth Authority for the fatal shooting of his sister.

Despite emotional pleas from his family and friends for a brief stint in Juvenile Hall, 14-year-old Richard Hubler of Anaheim was sentenced Thursday to 17 years to life in the California Youth Authority for the fatal shooting of his younger sister.

Hubler, who begged for leniency, tearfully told the court that he would never touch a gun again and blamed his interest in firearms on watching a lot of television.

Now, he said, “I just want to get out and go to my sister’s grave.”

But Superior Court Judge Robert E. Thomas rejected a commitment to Orange County Juvenile Hall, saying Hubler should serve time in the CYA to “develop a self-discipline he answers to.”

The judge’s decision brought emotional gasps and sobs from Hubler’s parents, brother, grandmother, and three rows of seats filled with his supporters. Some had requested that the youth receive no more than a year in Juvenile Hall for the June 14 slaying.

“He did a terrible thing. He realizes that,” said James Hubler, who asked the court to be merciful with his son. “I’ve talked to him many times since this happened. He has told me many times he wished it had been him that died instead of his sister.”

During Thursday’s hearing, Deputy Dist. Atty. Brent F. Romney told the court that he understands how unusual the case is and how the Hublers must be torn because of their love for both their son and their daughter, who was the victim.

Romney, however, argued that Hubler still refuses to face up to what happened, continuing to call the shooting an accident. The prosecutor also argued that the youth has a history of run-ins with authorities because of his fascination with guns and cannot not be trusted on probation.

“If he’s going to be rehabilitated, he’s going to have to be more restricted than what the local authorities can do,” Romney said.

Hubler, who called 911 after the shooting, initially told police that intruders shot his sister, Gema Marie, in her bedroom at their Anaheim Shores home. Confronted by the possibility of tests that would show whether he had fired a gun, he then said that he accidentally shot Gema while playing with a .22-caliber rifle.

But prosecutors introduced evidence that the brother and sister had argued vehemently just before the shooting. Among other things, a girlfriend with whom Hubler had been talking on the telephone heard him tell his sister to shut up or he would shoot her.

Later, Gema was mortally wounded in the head and died four days later, never regaining consciousness.

Hubler was on probation at the time for two previous incidents in which he possessed guns. Five days before the shooting, his father threatened to report him to a probation officer when he discovered that the boy had another gun. Hubler’s parents took that weapon away, but the youth obtained still another one, a .22-caliber rifle.

If Hubler had not violated his probation and disobeyed his parents, “Gema would be alive today,” the judge said during sentencing.

In September, Thomas convicted the youth of second-degree murder under the “implied malice” theory, stating that Hubler was aware that the rifle was defective when he took it to his sister’s room and pointed it at her. Hubler had sawed off the stock the night before and damaged the feeding mechanism for the ammunition.

Although he handed down a 17-years-to-life sentence, the judge told Hubler’s friends and family that the youth would probably serve no more than seven years under CYA guidelines.

At the hearing, the defense asked for a one-year commitment to Juvenile Hall to be followed by probation.

Hubler, in a tearful speech to the court, said, “I know what I did was wrong, but to send me to (the CYA) . . . I just won’t get much out of it.” He then complained that the authorities did not let him attend his sister’s funeral.

“I don’t understand why this is happening to him. This was just a tragic accident,” Virginia Alvarez, the mother of Hubler’s girlfriend, told the court.

But Thomas said the CYA would give the boy time to make good on his promise to the court and his family that he would straighten up his life.

“Good luck to you. . . . Listen to what they have to say,” Thomas said.