Nearly a year after the murder of 17-year-old Hailey Stephens at a house party in Casa Grande, a 14-year-old boy was booked into a juvenile detention center until his 18th birthday Thursday, following a Pinal County Juvenile Court decision.
The teen, who was 13 when Stephens died, was convicted in October after a juvenile court found his involvement in the crime. In juvenile court, minors are not found guilty, but tried or found guilty of a crime.
His case is the only trial to date of the nine people arrested in connection with Stephens’ death.
On November 26, 2023, gunshots rang out at a party held in a vacant house.
Detectives believed the shooting started during an argument at the party, during which Stephens and another girl were shot.
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Stephens died hours later in a hospital. The other girl, also 17, survived after being shot in the arm.
At the time, nine people were arrested and only two were charged in the shooting: a 13-year-old and a 15-year-old.
The case against the 15-year-old has not yet gone to trial and the Pinal County Prosecutor’s Office did not immediately respond to questions about the status of these charges.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Teen gets 4 years in juvenile detention for death of Hailey Stephens
