Jurors Reach Guilty Verdict in Teen's Killing

The victim, Joanna Vargas, was thought to be sleeping in her home but had left without permission to meet friends at a nearby park

Jurors reached a verdict in the case of a teenager accused of killing a girl who had sneaked out of her home to hang with friends.

Luis Francisco Barron, 19, was found guilty of murder charges for firing a shotgun from an SUV at Lindbergh Park on Aug. 27, 2010.

Prosecutors claim Barron fired a random shot and struck teenager Joanna Vargas, 15, who had sneaked out of her home to hang out with friends.

Vargas' mother thought her daughter was sleeping at 1:15 a.m. Instead, the teenager had sneaked out to meet her 19-year-old boyfriend and another couple at the park, she said.
     
Barron was captured in a Tijuana neighborhood called Colonia Obrera, an area in the western part of the city, weeks after the shooting and returned to the U.S. to face charges.

Barron was charged of assault with a firearm for an unrelated incident and now faces 54 years to life in prison.

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