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Pa. Teen Pleads Guilty, Mentally Ill In Grandma's Shooting Death

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ERIE, Pa. (AP) - A 16-year-old Pennsylvania boy has pleaded guilty but mentally ill in the 2016 shooting death of his grandmother.

The Erie Times-News reports Hunter Reeser entered the plea on Friday morning as part of a deal with prosecutors.

Reeser was 14 when he was charged with shooting 60-year-old Sandra Orton as she sat in a vehicle outside their Harborcreek Township home. Police say Reeser told them shot her because he didn't want to go to a meeting at school.

He'll be sentenced in March.

His lawyer is asking that Reeser receive the minimum sentence of seven years, citing Reeser's chaotic childhood and history of mental illness.

A defense expert testified Reeser shows signs of paranoid schizophrenia.

A judge previously threw out Reeser's recorded confession to police, saying Reeser couldn't understand the consequences.

(Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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