Teen Gets 9 Years in Freeway Rock-Throwing Incident
One of two Redondo Beach teen-agers who severely injured a motorist when they threw rocks onto the San Diego Freeway last December has been sentenced to nine years in prison, authorities said.
Gary Dean Nelson, 18, had faced a maximum of 13 years in prison but was sentenced to nine in accordance with an agreement reached between prosecutors and defense attorneys, Deputy District Atty. Marc Chomel said.
The sentencing came after Nelson and co-defendant Joshua McDonald, 17, decided not to contest felony charges stemming from the incident. Nelson and McDonald, who was going to be tried as an adult, last week changed their pleas to no contest, meaning they do not admit to the crime but will be punished as if they did so.
An Orange County man suffered severe head injuries, and nine other motorists were slightly injured when their cars were bombarded by rocks and concrete chunks. Chomel had charged that the youths hid in the freeway median and tossed the debris over a construction screen.
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