CLOVIS, N.M. (AP) — A judge has ruled that a teenager who pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a deadly shooting inside a rural New Mexico library will be sentenced as an adult.
State District Judge James Hudson in a ruling made public Tuesday denied a request by Nathaniel Jouett's attorney that sought a special hearing for determining whether the teen was amenable to treatment.
Rather than remaining in treatment until the age of 21, the judge cleared the way for a sentencing hearing in February.
Jouett faces anywhere from probation up to two life sentences plus 96 years in prison.
Jouett pleaded guilty in October to numerous charges, including two counts of first-degree murder and multiple counts of child abuse. Two Clovis librarians were killed and four other people were injured in the Aug. 28, 2017 shooting.