A 19-year-old Tucson man who shot an 8-year-old boy in the head while target practicing in his backyard was sentenced to 11 1/2 years in prison Tuesday.
Jonathan “Jessie” Muniz could have received more than 26 years in the shooting of Cesar Peña, but Pima County Superior Court Judge John Leonardo gave him a mitigated sentence, based on Muniz’s youth, lack of a criminal history, remorse, family support and limited cognitive ability.
Muniz was convicted last month of two counts of aggravated assault and one count of endangerment.
Cesar was playing in his backyard with his 4-year-old brother, Andres, last July when he was struck in the forehead by a .22-caliber bullet.
During the trial, Deputy Pima County Attorney Jonathan Mosher told jurors that Muniz, who lived a couple of houses away, fired the shot while showing his rifle to two friends, ages 10 and 16.
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During closing arguments, Mosher told jurors Muniz knew the two boys were nearby and "consciously disregarded" the risks of firing the weapon.
Someone who consciously disregards the risks is someone who is "reckless" in the eyes of the law and therefore is someone who is guilty of aggravated assault, Mosher said.
Mosher told the jurors that they should know Muniz consciously disregarded the law because Muniz's two friends told police immediately after the shooting that they warned Muniz not to fire the weapon, but he fired it anyway after saying, "Watch me scare these kids."
Muniz apparently was aiming at a chair about 70 feet from where he stood; Cesar stood stood 100 feet beyond the chair.
Joel Feinman, assistant Pima County public defender, told jurors the incident really was a heartbreaking and tragic accident.
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