14-year-old girl attempted to kill a friend’s stepdad

A 14-year-old Idaho girl admitted trying to kill her buddy’s stepfather with a friend, according to the prosecution.

According to The Lewiston Tribune, Chloe Marks of Lewiston pleaded guilty on Tuesday. When she is sentenced on February 23, she could spend up to 25 years in juvenile detention and jail.

When the incident happened in February, Marks and Triston Arnzen were both 14-year-old middle school students; both have been charged as adults. Arnzen, now 15 years old and from Lewiston, has entered a not-guilty plea to two counts of attempted murder related to the bullet wounds sustained by his stepfather and his stepsister, age 11. Prosecutors claim that Arnzen and Marks planned the shooting after George Hamblin Jr., Arnzen’s stepfather, informed them they couldn’t visit the park. The family’s firearm was taken by youths, according to the prosecution, and Marks shot Hamblin with it before giving it to Arnzen. Then, according to the prosecution, Arnzen shot his stepfather once more before turning the gun on his stepsister. She was pursued and shot twice in the leg. During a preliminary hearing in June, Lewiston Police detectives Brett Dammon and Cody Bloomsburg said Marks told them that she agreed to the shooting because, “YOLO,” an acronym for “you only live once.” Bloomsburg also testified that Arnzen told him the pair took some time to “build up the courage” before the shooting and that he stopped shooting at his stepsister because he thought the gun was empty.

During that hearing, defense attorneys noted that Arnzen did not have any parent present during the police interviews and that Marks’ parents first agreed to let her be interviewed before she was considered a suspect in the case.

On Tuesday, Marks’ defense attorney Rick Cuddihy said the plea agreement was reached after mediation, and that the agreement says Marks can serve time in juvenile detention until she is 21. After that, she may be released by a judge or sent to adult prison.

“The benefit to my client is that her stay in juvenile detention might be her only stay in jail,” Cuddihy said.

Arnzen’s defense attorney, Greg Rauch, could not be immediately reached for comment.

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