A 13-year-old Texas boy has been sentenced to 12 years behind bars in the murder of a Sonic Drive-In worker.
The suspect was just 12 when he fatally shot 32-year-old Matthew Davis, a Sonic employee, with an AR-style rifle as Davis fought the boy's uncle, Angel Gomez.
The teen, who was not named, was tried as a juvenile and convicted of delinquent conduct last month.
The shooting happened in May after Davis confronted Gomez, 20, about his "disorderly conduct" outside of the fast-food restaurant in Keene, about 40 miles southwest of Dallas. According to KDFW, Gomez was urinating in the parking lot.
The confrontation turned into an altercation and as the two men fought, the boy allegedly grabbed the gun from his uncle's vehicle and shot Davis several times. Gomez and the boy fled the scene after the shooting but were both later arrested and charged.
The boy was facing a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison. His 12-year sentence will begin at a juvenile center and could later be transferred to an adult prison at age 19.
Gomez is awaiting trial on a charge of tampering with evidence.
The boy's aunt, Ashley Marmolejo-Gomez, was also charged with manslaughter in the shooting earlier this month.
According to charging documents obtained by KXAS, 18-year-old Marmolejo-Gomez told investigators: "I reached under my seat, got my HK .22, handed it directly to [the boy], and said go. I meant for him to go out and stop the fight by scaring the guy."