GOSHEN — A teenager who was just 13 when he shot and killed an 18-year-old could spend the rest of his life in prison.
16-year-old Alphonso James was sentenced to 63 years in prison at a Thursday hearing in Elkhart County Circuit Court.
At a bench trial last year, James was convicted in the September 2018 murder of Jaren Minies in Elkhart. Authorities said a dispute over a gun, money and a video game led to the shooting. Minies died shortly after being shot multiple times.
During his trial, James said the shooting was a case of self-defense because Minies had aimed a gun at him.
