13-year-old Texas boy convicted of murder in fatal shooting at a Sonic Drive-In, authorities say

By JAKE BLEIBERG
Associated Press

DALLAS (AP) — A 13-year-old Texas boy has been convicted on a murder charge stemming from the fatal shooting of a Sonic Drive-In employee who had a fight with the boy’s uncle, authorities said.

A jury found Oct. 5 that the boy engaged in delinquent conduct, the juvenile equivalent of a guilty verdict, in the murder case over the May shooting of Matthew Davis, 32, according to the Johnson County sheriff’s and county attorney’s offices.

An attorney for the boy, whom authorities have not identified by name, did not immediately respond to a phone call seeking comment. His uncle, Angel Gomez, was also arrested after the shooting, and a separate case against him is pending.

Police have said the boy, then 12, shot Davis several times with an AR-style rifle in the parking lot of the restaurant in Keene, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) southwest of Dallas. He got the gun out of his uncle’s vehicle and opened fire after Davis confronted Gomez about his “disorderly conduct” outside the Sonic and the two men began to fight, police said.

Sentencing in the case is set for Thursday, and the boy could face anything from probation to 40 years in prison, said Amy Pardo of the county attorney’s office. She said she could not comment on what sentence prosecutors are seeking.

After the shooting, police said, Gomez and the boy fled the scene, but Gomez later returned and was arrested on a murder warrant. The boy was found and arrested in a nearby town.

Court records show Gomez was ultimately indicted on a charge of tampering with or fabricating physical evidence. His lawyer did not immediately respond to a phone call seeking comment.

The killing outside the Sonic came in the wake of two mass shootings in Texas that had focused attention on gun violence in the state.