California appeals court upholds conviction for teen killing
A state appeals court has upheld the conviction of a Southern California man for shooting a 17-year-old boy after the teen answered a knock at his door. The City News Service says the 2nd District Court of Appeal rejected claims that there were errors in the suspect’s trial. The suspect was a resident of Calabasas and was convicted of first-degree murder for the 2012 killing of Francisco Rodriguez and will be serving a 50-year to life sentence. Prosecutors say that the suspect believed that Rodriguez, a high school soccer goalie, was romancing his girlfriend. Authorities say that the suspect got the woman to knock on the door of the Rodriguez family home in the San Fernando Valley and lure him into the front yard, where he was shot. The woman that helped the suspect out was not charged with anything and was let go that same day. It is unclear as to why the woman helped the suspect lure out the victim and it is unclear if they suspect shot the man that he intended to kill that day.
