A 12-year-old Texas boy was found delinquent in the murder of a Sonic restaurant worker with an AR-style rifle after the child’s uncle got into a fight with the employee. The boy was arrested on May 13 after police received calls about a shooting at the Sonic Drive-In in Keene, Tex., 30 miles southwest of Fort Worth, according to the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office. The boy was found “delinquent,” which is the equivalent to guilty in juvenile court, of a murder charge on Oct. 5. The boy, who is from Fort Worth, was convicted after nearly seven hours of deliberation. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Thursday, the Washington Post reports.. A juvenile convicted of murder in Texas could face up to 40 years in prison.
Police say the incident unfolded when the boy’s uncle, Angel Gomez, started urinating in the parking lot of the Sonic. Matthew Davis, a 32-year-old Sonic employee, confronted Gomez, 20, for “being disorderly in the parking lot,” and the argument between them got physical. Gomez’s nephew, who was sitting in the back seat of a car, retrieved an AR-style .22 rifle and shot Davis at least six times. Davis was airlifted to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. By the time police arrived, the boy, Gomez and the boy’s aunt had fled the scene. Gomez is also charged with murder. It’s unclear whether Gomez had a concealed-carry permit. Since September 2021, it is legal in Texas for most people over the age of 21 or over to carry a handgun in a holster without a permit both openly or concealed.