California judge sentences teen to life without parole for crimes he
committed at 14
   
    Saturday, June 14, 2003
    Associated Press

    URL:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/06/14/national0628EDT0451.DTL



    (06-14) 03:28 PDT SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) --

    A teenager who was 14 when he kidnapped a businessman and shot at
police has been sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole,
becoming one of the youngest defendants in California history to receive
the penalty.

    Antonio Nunez, now 16, was sentenced Friday by Orange County Superior
Court Judge William Froeberg, who rejected arguments that the sentence was
cruel and unusual punishment.

    In addition to life without parole, Nunez received four additional
life terms and 121 years for being found guilty of six counts of attempted
murder of a police officer, assault, evading, street terrorism and
committing crimes for the benefit of a street gang.

    Defense attorney Joel Garson asked the judge to weigh "the mental
maturity" of the youth, whose reading and math skills were purportedly at
a second-grade level.

    Garson said Nunez had a "very minor" past criminal history and a
traumatic family life, including witnessing his brother's murder and
having parents who did not properly supervise him.

    Nunez was arrested on April 25, 2001, and charged with kidnapping
Santa Ana businessman Delfino Moreno and shooting at officers with an
AK-47 during a chase. No one was injured.

    Juan Diego Perez, 29, Nunez's accomplice, was convicted of the same
counts and was also sentenced to life without parole in an earlier trial.

    Associated Press