The teen who shot and killed 7-year-old Maria del Carmen Menchaca outside her Salt Lake City home last year will spend at least 25 years behind bars before any chance of parole, the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole has ruled.
Gabriel Alejandro Alvarez, who was 16 at the time of the shooting, will be 41 when he appears for his first parole hearing in July 2033.
Alvarez, who pleaded guilty in 3rd District Court to first-degree felony murder, was sentenced in August to 16 years to life in prison.
On July 6, 2008, Alvarez was riding in an SUV, allegedly driven by 22-year-old Frank Puga Benavidez, when he started shooting at Menchaca's older cousin, Luis Menchaca, who was outside the girl's home.
Luis Menchaca spotted the vehicle with a gunman inside and told Maria and another child to run, charges state. Alvarez fired at Luis Menchaca, but hit Maria instead, prosecutors say.
The gun Alvarez used was provided by 17-year-old Mae Goodman Johnson, who has pleaded guilty to second-degree felony manslaughter. A sentencing date for Johnson has not yet been set.
Benavidez, who is charged with aggravated murder for his role in the girl's slaying, has been considering a plea offer.
The parole board made its decision last week.
