Boy gets 3 years for murder
A 14-year-old boy who pleaded guilty to the killing of another teen-ager eight months ago in a gang initiation rite was sentenced yesterday to three years imprisonment in a juvenile detention.
The boy pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the stabbing death of Antonio Sablan Jr. on April 30.
Superior Court Associate Judge John Manglona ordered him to serve three years in a juvenile detention.
The boy is the second of three suspects who have pleaded guilty to the killing. The remaining suspect is scheduled for trial next month.
The three teen-agers, aged 14 to 17, stabbed Sablan with a knife while he was alone in his Dandan home.
The killing was believed to be related to an initiation rite. The three were members of a gang called RED RUM, read MURDER backward.
The victim, a Hopwood Jr. High School student, suffered multiple stab wounds on the neck, right arm, right thigh, right knee and chest.
The victim’s father discovered the boy’s body inside the master bedroom at around 5:00 p.m. of April 30.
A younger brother of the victim said he first saw the body, but he was so overcome with fear as to be able to get some help. Confused and scared, he went to a neighbor’s house and watched TV, leaving behind his older brother in a pool of blood.
The death was the first homicide case on Saipan this year.
Meanwhile, the family of the victim expressed disappointment over the court’s decision. They plan to file a civil suit.