Youth, 14, Convicted of Manslaughter
MERCED, Calif. — A 14-year-old Livingston youth was cleared of a murder charge but convicted of involuntary manslaughter after a boy he scuffled with died.
The youth fought with 13-year-old Idelfonso Galvan at the Yamato School playground last May 6 as more than 40 people watched, Livingston Police Det. Steve Brown said.
After the fight, Galvan walked the few blocks from the school to his home and went to bed complaining of a severe headache and nausea, a police report shows.
Galvan was taken to Merced Community Medical Center that evening when his brother found him unconscious, and was later flown by helicopter to a Modesto hospital, police said.
He died eight hours later of blows to the head, an autopsy report showed.
Merced County Municipal Judge Frank Dougherty dropped the second-degree murder charge Thursday, replacing it with the lesser manslaughter charge.
The suspect, who was unidentified because of his age, could receive up to four years at the California Youth Authority at sentencing next month.
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