Boy Sentenced To 10 Years In Stabbing Death

A 15-year-old boy has been sentenced to 10 years and three months in prison for stabbing another teen to death at a party in January.

Juan Zepeda pleaded guilty as an adult to second-degree murder in the death of 18-year-old Shaun Owsley of Grandview.

During Thursday’s sentencing hearing, Zepeda stood and apologized to members of the victim’s family.

Zepeda, also of Grandview, admitted he tried to stab Owsley during a fight the night of Jan. 24, but said he didn’t mean to kill him. He asked the family to forgive him.

Outside the courtroom, Shaun Owsley’s parents said they would oblige.

“I felt he was sincere and he meant it,” said Cris Owsley, the victim’s stepmother. “I accept his apology.”

Gale Owsley, the victim’s father, said the sentence was “just.”

Yakima County Superior Court Judge James Hutton followed the plea bargain’s recommended sentence.

As part of the plea bargain, prosecutors agreed to drop a first-degree assault charge involving another teen Zepeda allegedly stabbed.

Zepeda and Owsley were attending a party at a Grandview residence the night of the stabbing. When a fight broke out, the two teens came to blows. Zepeda pulled a knife shaped like a handgun, with a pistol grip for a handle and a blade in the place of a barrel. He stabbed Owsley in the shoulder and chest, piercing his heart.