BEAUMONT, Texas — A Jefferson County jury has sentenced a 16-year-old Southeast Texas teen to 40 years in prison for fatally shooting a 25-year-old man in 2021.
Omar Lara, who was 14-years-old at the time of the fatal shooting, was sentenced by the jury to 40 years in prison Thursday morning in 252nd District Court.
Lara, who changed his plea to guilty on Monday before his trial began, fatally shot Juan Antonio Borrego, 25, in 2021.
Judge Raquel West presided over the trial of the teen who had faced up to 99 years or life in prison.
After Lara pleaded guilty the trial moved directly to the punishment phase.
Lara, who was certified to stand trial as an adult, must serve at lease 20 years before he is eligible for parole according to prosecutor Tommy Coleman who co-prosecuted the case with Phillip Smith.
"We appreciate the jury's service. We think they took this case very seriously," Coleman told 12News, adding "Forty years for this youthful offender is not an insignificant sentence."
During the punishment phase Coleman told the jury that the evidence would show that back in September 2021 Lara and his friends lived in a world of , "... drugs, guns and senseless violence."
Coleman described how an abandoned car full of bullet holes and blood would eventually lead police to Lara who was, "not very forthcoming" when talking to police.
He told the jury that once Lara heard that Borrego made overtures toward his girlfriend, he called a "green light" which is supposedly code for killing Borrego.
His defense attorney, Ryan Gertz, began his opening statements by telling the jury that Lara has already accepted responsibility for his actions and the jury is here today to decide a correct punishment.
Gertz described how Lara's girlfriend, who was older than Lara, gave different accounts to police and how Lara, who was a juvenile, spoke to police without his parents and admitted he shot Borrego.
Gertz told the jury to consider testimony that would show there were two shooters saying that Lara told police that he and a 25-year-old man were in the front seat of a car when Borrego , who was in the back seat, was fatally shot.
On Saturday, September 25, 2021 around 7:51 a.m. Beaumont Police found abandoned car with blood inside off Crocket Street & Ave. C, according to a probable cause affidavit.
The investigation led officers to an address on Goliad where the victim usually hung out. Witnesses said Lara shot and killed Borrego. He admitted it to detectives and gave them details about location of the abandoned car and the body. Police used information from the confession and found body near Fourth Street and Crockett, according to the affidavit.
On May 9, 2023 Lara appeared in court. Gertz, asked for a reschedule and indicated they were waiting from an offer from the prosecution. It was rejected because it is set for trial this week.
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This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.
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