Teen sentenced in accidental shooting death of Topeka 501 student

TOPEKA ( KSNT ) – The sentence for a teenager found guilty in the death of a Topeka USD 501 student was delivered Friday.

Katie Garceran with the Shawnee County District Attorney’s Office told 27 News Joshua Garcia was sentenced to 54 months or four-and-a-half years in the Kansas Juvenile Correctional Complex along with one year of aftercare. This is in connection to the accidental shooting death of Kaleb Lane, 13, in 2023.

Lane died at a local hospital following a shooting in the 1300 block of SW Garfield Avenue on March 16, 2023. At the time, he was a student at Eisenhower Middle school in Topeka.

Garcia, 14 at the time, was arrested shortly after the shooting took place. A judge found Garcia guilty in June 2023 of reckless second-degree murder and criminal use of a firearm by a juvenile.

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