Man accused of murdering teen, 16, pleads guilty to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon; murder charge dismissed

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- A man who was accused of the murder of a teen, 16, accepted a plea agreement in the case and will now serve seven years deferred probation for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

And the murder charge against Luis Renteria was dismissed.

Renteria, who was 49 at the time of the shooting, was arrested five months after Isaiah Lerma, 16, died from a gunshot wound at University Medical Center of El Paso on Dec. 30, 2021.

Renteria was arrested in Garland, Texas in May 2022.

El Paso District Attorney Bill Hicks told ABC-7 Thursday, the prosecutor handling the case determined the facts would make it difficult to have the trial end with a conviction.

"I would say that the defendant had a self-defense claim, and it was going to be difficult for us to overcome that self-defense claim had we gone to trial," said Hicks.

ABC-7 spoke with the family of Isaiah Lerma after the plea hearing Thursday afternoon.

They said they don't believe justice was served.

“It wasn't justice," said Ruby Lerma, Isaiah's mother. "What was given to (Renteria) was not enough, no matter what it would have been. It's still not going to bring him back, but I feel he deserves some kind of justice. I feel like nothing was done today for him."