Chancey Allen Luna was found guilty of
first-degree murder Friday for his role in the August 2013 drive-by
shooting of Christopher Lane, a 23-year-old college student in Duncan,
about 80 miles south of Oklahoma City. Luna was 16 at the time of the
shooting.
Lane, an Australian attending East Central University, was jogging when he was shot in the back by a gun fired by Luna.
A
jury recommended Friday that Luna spend life in prison without the
possibility of parole, according to court records. Because he was under
18 when the crime was committed, he is not eligible for the death
penalty. He'll be formally sentenced in June.
Christopher Lane was gunned down while jogging in August 2013.
The
vehicle's driver, Michael Jones, pleaded guilty in March to
second-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison. Jones, who was
17 at the time of the murder, will be eligible for parole starting in
2051, according to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.
Prosecutors
dropped first-degree murder charges filed against the third suspect,
then only 15, after he agreed to testify against Luna and Jones,
according to CNN affiliate KSWO. He will now be tried as a juvenile with accessory to murder after the fact.
Duncan
police Chief Danny Ford told Australian radio station 3AW that when
police arrested the teens, Jones offered a motive that made clear that
Lane, a baseball player on scholarship, was chosen at random.
"We were bored and didn't have anything to do, so we decided to kill somebody."
After
the verdict, Luna appeared to be crying as deputies led him out of the
courtroom in handcuffs, whimpering "I'm sorry" to a reporter.
