Prosecutors file petition to charge 12-year-old as adult
Boy shot mother with handgun

By XAVIER ZARAGOZA
The Douglas Dispatch
Published/Last Modified on Wednesday, August 6, 2008 11:57 AM MDT


The Cochise County Attorney’s Office has filed a petition to prosecute as an adult a 12-year-old Pirtleville boy who shot and killed his mother, Sara Madrid, 34.


The boy, whose name was not released because of his juvenile status, is being held at a juvenile detention center in Sierra Vista.

Cochise County Attorney Ed Rheinheimer said prosecutors submitted the petition to juvenile court Saturday afternoon. Juvenile court is a division of the Cochise County Superior Court.

“If the juvenile is under 14 years of age, the prosecutors must ask the court for permission to try the juvenile as an adult,” Rheinheimer said.

If the juvenile is 14 years of age, the prosecutors can make the decision to charge the juvenile as an adult or not, he said.

If the juvenile is 15, 16 or 17, the court under Arizona Revised Statutes 13-501 can charge a juvenile as an adult, especially on a first-degree murder charge.

Rheinheimer said no court date has been set on whether the boy will be charged as an adult.

On August 1, at about 4:19 p.m., the 12-year-old boy shot and killed his mother, Sara, at the 2500 block of Oak Avenue with a small caliber handgun, said Carol Capas, the spokeswoman for the Cochise County Sheriff’s Department.

The boy and mother had an argument earlier in the day. The mother and her boyfriend left the home and returned later that afternoon.  The mother had just gotten out of the car when the boy shot her multiple times. Madrid was transported to Southeast Arizona Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.

The handgun belonged to the mother’s boyfriend, she said.  The sheriff’s deputies are continuing the investigation.

Copyright © 2012 Douglas Dispatch

Comments

    Cory wrote on Aug 13, 2008 6:23 AM:

    " It's sad that our culture is so fast to lock up a child before trying to learn what was going on in his head. A 12 year old doesn't have the mental capacity to know the consequences of shooting someone. Locking him up is not going to solve anything and only make his life worse. "

    Ira wrote on Aug 7, 2008 12:22 AM:

    " Why did the boyfriend not keep the weapon in a secure place....maybe this could have been avoided....that's massive neglience on his part... "

    tim wrote on Aug 6, 2008 11:55 PM:

    " unquestionably, we reside in a Codependent world where the underlying issues ooze in many forms......prosecuting this boy as an adult would be jumping the gun before knowing the true causes that led him to commit this act.... "

    paula wrote on Aug 6, 2008 11:47 PM:

    " this act proves the point that weapons should not be in the reach of children......in addition, neglience charges should be filed against the "boyfriend" for not properly securing the weapon in a safe area far from the minor's reach!!!!!! all angles of the situation must be examined before making a final decision.... "

    parent wrote on Aug 6, 2008 5:06 PM:

    " The boyfriend should be held responsible for leaving the handgun at the house. This is a tragedy and my condolenses to the family. "

    th Steet wrote on Aug 6, 2008 3:56 PM:

    " May God bless Sara. Thirty four is way to young to leave this world. I hope that little boy someday realizes what he really did and pays for it. A true mother's love is strong but to remove it from this earth in such a cowardly way is uncalled for. I hope that boy gets what is coming his way is this world or the next. Rest in peace Sara. "

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