ORANGE : Boy, 16, Was Accessory to Slaying Over Stereo
A 16-year-old boy was found guilty Monday of being an accessory to the murder of a Tustin teen-ager over a stereo system.
Carl Claes, 14, of Tustin was found dead May 17 in the community of Lemon Heights a few miles from where he lived with his grandfather. Police said he was killed when he asked for the return of his $2,500 stereo system, which he had loaned to one of the suspects.
The 16-year-old was tried in Juvenile Court on charges that he had hidden the stereo. He will be sentenced Oct. 2 to a term in Juvenile Hall.
Tommy Miller, 16, and Jason Merritt, now 18, are charged as adults in the slaying. Miller’s 15-year-old brother and another boy, 17, also are charged with being accessories. Their trial is set to begin in Juvenile Court next week.
Christopher Sieple, 24, is to be arraigned today in Orange County Superior Court on related charges.
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