O.C. teen gets life in prison for murder committed when he was 14

A Santa Ana teenager was sentenced Friday to 40 years to life in prison for a fatal shooting he committed when he was 14.

Andrew Cervantes, now 15, was tried as adult and will begin his sentence at the California Youth Authority before being transferred at age 18 to state prison.

Prosecutors said Cervantes shot Manuel Orozco, 17, on June 22, 2010, after a gang-related confrontation in Santa Ana.

Cervantes and his friend, Jose Baldemar Moreno, 15, rode their bikes by Orozco, a rival gang member, who was sitting in a parked car. One of the defendants made a hand gesture toward Orozco, who got out of the car and called out to the younger men. An argument erupted, and Cervantes pulled out a gun and shot Orozco in the chest.

Orozco died at the scene, two doors down from his home. Cervantes fled to Stockton, where he was later arrested.

In September, a jury found Cervantes guilty of second-degree murder and street terrorism.

Moreno, who was also prosecuted as an adult, pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact and was sentenced to three years in custody.

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-- Gale Holland