Palmdale Man’s Killer Gets 12 Years : Courts: Joey Paul Bellinger, 19, also wounded the victim’s brother. He will be eligible for parole in four years.

A Long Beach teen-ager who shot two hearing-impaired Palmdale brothers after a traffic incident, killing one of them, was sentenced Tuesday to 12 years in prison but could be free in four years.

As part of a plea bargain, San Fernando Superior Court Judge Howard J. Schwab allowed Joey Paul Bellinger, 19, to serve his time in a California Youth Authority facility.

“This is a tragic case,” Schwab said. “There are no winners, only losers.”

Bellinger’s attorney, Ezekiel P. Perlo, said Bellinger will be given credit for the nearly three years he has already been in custody and more than a year for good behavior. That means that Bellinger will be eligible for parole after serving about four years.

Perlo said the sentence was reasonable considering that Bellinger faced a maximum sentence of 30 years to life if convicted by a jury. However, he and the teen-ager’s parents maintained that the shooting was in self-defense.

Bellinger’s parents, Joseph Paul Bellinger Sr. and Phyllis Mary Goodman, were in the courtroom for sentencing but declined to comment.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Phil Halpin said he agreed to the settlement because some witnesses could not be found, making it more difficult to obtain a conviction if the case went to trial.

Bellinger, who was 16 at the time of the Jan. 28, 1990, incident, originally was charged with murder and attempted murder for killing Cesar Viera, 30, and wounding Edward Viera, then 25. The charges were reduced to voluntary manslaughter and assault with a firearm in exchange for Bellinger’s no-contest plea, which is the equivalent of a guilty plea for criminal court purposes.

Prosecutors said Bellinger was among a group of youths in a car that stopped for a traffic light at an intersection in Granada Hills, and exchanged glares and insults with the Vieras, who were on a motorcycle.

Both groups pulled into the parking lot of a nearby shopping center, where Bellinger fired several shots at the brothers. Edward Viera recovered.

After the shooting, Bellinger fled to the home of family friends in Upstate New York with the help of his parents. He was arrested March 2, 1990, after an intensive search by Los Angeles police and the FBI.

Bellinger’s parents later pleaded no contest to charges that they orchestrated the escape. Bellinger’s father was placed on three years probation and ordered to perform 200 hours of community service on a felony charge. His mother was sentenced on a misdemeanor charge to two years probation and ordered to perform 100 hours of community service.