HOUSTON — The teen who shot and killed a classmate at Bellaire High School last year was sentenced to twelve years in prison on Monday.
Jurors found him guilty of manslaughter on Friday.
It was just over a year ago that 19-year-old Cesar Cortez was killed in the JROTC room by a fellow cadet.
Bellaire police said the teen was showing off the gun when it accidentally went off.
The shooting on January 14, 2020 stunned students and staff at the school and rocked the community.
Editor's note: The above raw video of police finding the teen in a dumpster originally aired on January 15, 2020.
The suspect, whose name wasn’t released because he was 16 at the time, was found hiding in a dumpster later that night.
Bellaire police said he showed no remorse when they arrested him.
He initially refused to cooperate or tell police where he hid the gun. They spread out searching for it, fearing the loaded weapon might fall into the wrong hands.
Eventually, he led police to the gun but still refused to tell them where he got it.
Cortez was full of potential with a bright future, friends and family said. He had signed up to serve in the Army.