14-year-old charged with murder in deadly crash

[Altrec]

Doesn't matter. The kid was an idiot, for sure. However, he is just that, a kid. The Adult committed a crime by giving chase in a vehicle, and brandishing a fire arm. So while the kid caused the anger, the guy who gave chase and had a guy escalated it and caused the accident to occur. I highly doubt that without that guy chasing in like that, he would have blown a red light.

Ignoring the guy who "allegedly" brandished the firearm for a moment. The idiot kid(s) and his friends could have caused a wreck and killed someone by throwing the eggs at cars as they are driving around. Throwing eggs could easily startle someone or block vision and cause an accident that results in death so lets not pretend that their actions are just innocent pranks. I stand by my statement that the kid(s) are at primary fault being the ones to start this chain of events.

[kail]

Manslaughter. A defense attorney can win such a case against a murder charge (even in Texas).

[muto]

Not the same thing. Vandalism is a misdemeanor. Pulling a gun on someone to escalate a situation is typically a felony. So no, he is still in the wrong. You don't pull a gun on an unarmed indivudual. You don't then give Chase to the unarmed individual because things like this can happen.

You also don’t give the guy a reason to.

[Nitros14]

Near as I can tell the source for the dude brandishing a gun is the killer himself.

Maybe he made up the gun, he is 14.

[Steelcryo]

Not the same thing. Vandalism is a misdemeanor. Pulling a gun on someone to escalate a situation is typically a felony. So no, he is still in the wrong. You don't pull a gun on an unarmed indivudual. You don't then give Chase to the unarmed individual because things like this can happen.

You're not wrong, the guy definitely has some blame in this but that doesn't mean the kids crime is absolved. He killed someone while committing a felony, under law that's a murder regardless of circumstances. The only question is what charge the guy gets too. He could technically be linked to the death and charged with murder too, if they wanted.

[Vanyali]

So, another example of the law being stupid any not actually working. Getting pretty tired of things like this where loop holes cause issues in situations that most rational people can tell the difference of.

No, it's actually working given he stole a vehicle he wasn't trained in and murdered someone as a result. The fact that it was started because he decided to egg the wrong person is irrelevant; he decided to commit a bigger crime in running from the crime he did in the first place. Throwing eggs at moving cars can also be lethal, so its not even like the first incident was just a prank, bro.

[Zantos]

Yea, I looked it up...
You can commit a deadly conduct offense in Texas whenever you engage in any type of conduct that you know, or should know, will place someone else at risk of suffering serious bodily injury. For example, if you point a gun at someone else, you can be charged with deadly conduct even if you never fire the weapon or never intend to fire it. It's enough that you intentionally brandish the weapon and know, or should know, that such an act poses a danger to someone else.

(Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 22.05.)
I guess though, for me anyway, is if I was being polled as a juror on this, I would still be thinking what initiated the guy to go after the kid in the first place.

Don't get me wrong, the kid broke the law. He caused the guy to get angry. However, the guys reaction at that point, and subsequent actions, are what led to the accident. Without him being unable to control is anger and not pull a guy, and then starting to chase people in his vehicle with the gun, the accident wouldn't have occurred.

[kail]

So is egging someone’s car. It’s called vandalism.

And the kid will be charged with vandalism, still seeing heavy fault in the triggered man that brandished a firearm over a prank.

[Zantos]

Ignoring the guy who "allegedly" brandished the firearm for a moment. The idiot kid(s) and his friends could have caused a wreck and killed someone by throwing the eggs at cars as they are driving around. Throwing eggs could easily startle someone or block vision and cause an accident that results in death so lets not pretend that their actions are just innocent pranks. I stand by my statement that the kid(s) are at primary fault being the ones to start this chain of events.

They could have absolutely yes. However, they didn't. In this case, we can't ignore what happened. The guy caused them to fear for their life.

[Dug]

The implication of 'joy ride' is that it's unsanctioned use of a vehicle. I don't see how you could possibly blame the parents.

Leaving the keys out for easy access? If the kid just ended up running into a wall and killing himself the parents would probably be getting charged with neglect, endangerment of a child etc. Not too familiar with the charges

[Najnaj]

Are you legally required to render aid? I'm asking honestly. Is it something you agree to when you get your license?

Some countries have that written into law. I don't think it has anything to do with the drivers license. Basically you are legally obligated to help the best you can when someones life is in danger. Having said that, I have no clue if that is the case here.

Also, Texas, for when you are too rich and nuts for Alabama. Every time foreign press reports on some idiotic legal case in the US you can be sure that it is happening in Texas. Just look at Ted Cruz and then try to explain to me why there isn't something really, really wrong with Texas!

[Zantos]

No, it's actually working given he stole a vehicle he wasn't trained in and murdered someone as a result. The fact that it was started because he decided to egg the wrong person is irrelevant; he decided to commit a bigger crime in running from the crime he did in the first place. Throwing eggs at moving cars can also be lethal, so its not even like the first incident was just a prank, bro.

He didn't run from committing a crime. He ran from a guy with a gun and chasing him with a vehicle.

I stand by my statement, this is a clear case of the law being to black and white and not taking things into account. The kid should absolutely be in trouble. Not murder though. He was expressly running from the gun. A reasonable argument could be made that at that point, he feared for his life.

- - - Updated - - -

You're not wrong, the guy definitely has some blame in this but that doesn't mean the kids crime is absolved. He killed someone while committing a felony, under law that's a murder regardless of circumstances. The only question is what charge the guy gets too. He could technically be linked to the death and charged with murder too, if they wanted.

Its a loop hole. Charge the kid for the felony of the vehicle sure, and egging. Heck, tack on manslaughter. However, flat out murder is wrong. He was being chased by a guy with a gun in his car. That is what let to the fatal accident.

[schwank05]

Are you legally required to render aid? I'm asking honestly. Is it something you agree to when you get your license?

Yes, in many places you are required to at the very least report the accident. It could technically be considered fleeing the scene of an accident.

[Zantos]

You also don’t give the guy a reason to.

They didn't give him a reason to. By your logic, someone throws toilet paper on your house, you get to pull a gun and shoot them. Escalations can be a crime. You don't pull a gun just because of an egging.

[Vanyali]

He didn't run from committing a crime. He ran from a guy with a gun and chasing him with a vehicle.

I stand by my statement, this is a clear case of the law being to black and white and not taking things into account. The kid should absolutely be in trouble. Not murder though. He was expressly running from the gun. A reasonable argument could be made that at that point, he feared for his life.

Egging people's cars while they're driving is absolutely a crime. And it's not just "vandalism". He was committing a felony before he even took off int eh car and murdered someone.

[hawkeyeTA]

These are the same type of kids that been throwing things off the overpass into traffic killing people. Kids will be kids i guess, no one fault.

[Altrec]

They could have absolutely yes. However, they didn't. In this case, we can't ignore what happened. The guy caused them to fear for their life.

Actually, they did. They stole a car, they egged a moving car, they ran, and they killed someone. We don't know the guy caused them to fear for their life seeing as the brandishing of a firearm is only alleged, and even if he did they are still the ones primarily at fault. I'm not the one that seems to be ignoring what happened whereas you seem hyper-focused on only one alleged event in a series of events.

[Hadriker]

He didn't run from committing a crime. He ran from a guy with a gun and chasing him with a vehicle.

I stand by my statement, this is a clear case of the law being to black and white and not taking things into account. The kid should absolutely be in trouble. Not murder though. He was expressly running from the gun. A reasonable argument could be made that at that point, he feared for his life.

- - - Updated - - -

Its a loop hole. Charge the kid for the felony of the vehicle sure, and egging. Heck, tack on manslaughter. However, flat out murder is wrong. He was being chased by a guy with a gun in his car. That is what let to the fatal accident.

The kid will have a lawyer to argue that for him if there is evidence of it happening. The other dude could still be charged with something since he acted like a moron as well.
I very much doubt the kid will actually be found guilty of a murder charge. what is more likely is his lawyer will plead out for a lesser charge, probably manslaughter.

[Zantos]

Egging people's cars while they're driving is absolutely a crime. And it's not just "vandalism". He was committing a felony before he even took off int eh car and murdered someone.

Charge him with those crimes. He committed them. However, murder is not among the list. The law doesn't allow for context in this scenario. The fact of the matter is, anyone who is being chased with a guy is going to fear for their lifes. They are going to run away. The guy who was chasing him even fled the scene of the accident. I am not saying the kid didn't commit any crimes. However, most people would have the reasonable expectation to not be chased with a gun unless the one chasing them is a lunatic.

Manslaughter is the appropriate charge. Not murder. They could try to argue what if's all the want as to if the kid would have blown that light anyway. The fact is though, he blew that red light while fleeing for his life.

[Vanyali]

Charge him with those crimes. He committed them. However, murder is not among the list. The law doesn't allow for context in this scenario. The fact of the matter is, anyone who is being chased with a guy is going to fear for their lifes. They are going to run away. The guy who was chasing him even fled the scene of the accident. I am not saying the kid didn't commit any crimes. However, most people would have the reasonable expectation to not be chased with a gun unless the one chasing them is a lunatic.

Manslaughter is the appropriate charge. Not murder. They could try to argue what if's all the want as to if the kid would have blown that light anyway. The fact is though, he blew that red light while fleeing for his life.

The context is he was performing attempted murder, fled from that (you could argue the guy ALLEGEDLY [we know the egging happened, we know the stolen vehicle happened] waving a gun was heat of the moment or self defense given that he was having an idiot teenager attempt to kill him), and killed someone that wasn't involved because he had no idea how to drive a car or care for anyone else in any moment during that day.

Murder is the appropriate cause given the fact that he was committing multiple felonies and as a result of that killed someone. He blew that red light after trying to kill multiple other people through "its just a prank bro" endangerment and fled the second he realized his actions had consequences... namely, that someone might want to stop him from doing so at gunpoint. Allegedly. Or you know, a cellphone in his hand that was being waved.