16-year-old convicted for shooting another teen was sent to state training school

CEDAR RAPIDS — A judge Tuesday deferred sentencing for a 16-year-old Cedar Rapids boy charged as an adult for shooting a 17-year-old last year, and juvenile court will now send him to the State Training School in Eldora.

Antonio Ranulfo Juarez-Luna, originally charged with attempted murder, pleaded last month in writing to intimidation with a dangerous weapon, willful injury resulting in bodily injury, going armed with intent, and use of a dangerous weapon in the commission of a crime.

He faces up to 22 years in prison, but he was prosecuted as a youthful offender and will remain at the state training school until he turns 18. He will then be sent back to district court and a judge will decide whether to release him or sentence him to probation or prison to serve the remainder of his term, depending on how he does at the school.

On Aug. 5, 2023, witnesses at Hanna Park in Marion, including the 17-year-old who was shot, identified Juarez-Luna as the individual who retrieved a firearm from a bag and fired 11 times at a teen identified as “C.W.,” according to a criminal complaint. The 17-year-old was struck four times in his legs, hip and foot, according to court documents.

The teen had fractures to his fibula, metatarsal and cuboid — foot — bone and wounds to his left hip and foot.

The shooting happened during a fight over a basketball game and Juarez-Luna — who was 15 at the time — shot at C.W., who was among the other participants in the game, the complaint stated. Juarez-Luna was moving at C.W. while shooting at him and continued to shoot at him after C.W. fell.

During a waiver hearing last year, 6th Judicial Associate District Judge Angie Johnston said there were many aggravating factors alleged in this case: Juarez-Luna was the only teen involved in the dispute that day who had a gun; the shooting occurred during the middle of day at a public park during a basketball game; he fired 11 times and continued to fire at the victim after he fell to the ground; and another person had to take Juarez-Luna’s gun from him to stop the shooting.

Johnston pointed out that this shooting wasn’t an accident, nor was it a self-defense situation — none of the others at the game were armed and “even if there was a reasonable belief that they were, to continue to shoot after the victim was on the ground takes it out of the realm of reasonable force.”

Juarez-Luna’s mother picked him up after the shooting and didn’t contact law enforcement immediately but instead attempted to get rid of the gun by giving it to another minor.

His mother, Miriah Juarez-Hernandez, 46, admitted to police she drove her son and his friends back to Cedar Rapids after the shooting and that she gave the gun used in the shooting to another juvenile to hide, according to Marion police. Police later found the gun at the juvenile’s home.

In May, Juarez-Hernandez pleaded to prohibited transfer of a weapon and accessory after the fact. She received a deferred judgment and two years of probation.

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