Tustin Teen Pleads Guilty to Buying Gun Allegedly Used in Killing of Boy
SANTA ANA — A Tustin teen-ager pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges of being an accessory after the fact and receiving a stolen weapon in connection with the slaying of 14-year-old Carl Dan Claes.
Kyle Sieple, 18, had bought the stolen gun allegedly used to kill the eighth-grader and failed to turn over the weapon when he later learned of its connection to the crime, said his lawyer, Michael Molfetta.
“He was stupid enough to want a weapon,†Molfetta said. “He was unlucky enough to buy the weapon that was used to kill Carl Claes.â€
The boy was shot and left in a Lemon Heights ditch a mile from his home May 16, following what investigators say was a dispute over his $2,500 sound system.
Sieple and his older brother Christopher are among seven people charged with being accessories or direct participants in the killing.
Kyle Sieple was sentenced to 180 days in jail and three years’ probation. Sieple, who has been in custody since his arrest in June, will be freed but will serve the remainder of his sentence in January, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Carolyn Kirkwood.
Molfetta stressed that his client was not involved in any way in the killing, and that he hopes to get a job and move on with his life.
“It’s been a huge wake-up call,†he said.
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