UVALDE, Tx. (AP) – Police say a 12-year-old boy has been charged with capital murder in the fatal shooting of a boxer at the victim’s South Texas home.
Uvalde police said Thursday that the boy is charged in the slaying of John Duane VanMeter and is being held at a juvenile detention center.
VanMeter’s fiancee called 911 Wednesday evening saying someone had broken into their home, and police found the man with a gunshot wound to the head. VanMeter was set to be married on Valentine’s Day, according to KSAT.
Police Chief Daniel Rodriquez says police are trying to determine a motive.
The Uvalde school district said the juvenile was a student there.
Under Texas law, children younger than 14 cannot be tried as adults for first-degree felonies so the suspect would be charged as a juvenile and faces a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison, the San Antonio Express-News reports.
VanMeter’s trainer, David Hernandez, who runs Tree City Boxing Club in Uvalde, described VanMeter as a man with a “heart of gold and an amazing spirit.” He was known as “The California Kid.”
