By Associated Press - Friday, January 4, 2019

ERIE, Pa. (AP) - A 16-year-old Pennsylvania boy has pleaded guilty but mentally ill in the 2016 shooting death of his grandmother.

The Erie Times-News reports Hunter Reeser entered the plea on Friday morning as part of a deal with prosecutors.

Reeser was 14 when he was charged with shooting 60-year-old Sandra Orton as she sat in a vehicle outside their Harborcreek Township home. Police say Reeser told them shot her because he didn’t want to go to a meeting at school.

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He’ll be sentenced in March.

His lawyer is asking that Reeser receive the minimum sentence of seven years, citing Reeser’s chaotic childhood and history of mental illness.

A defense expert testified Reeser shows signs of paranoid schizophrenia.

A judge previously threw out Reeser’s recorded confession to police, saying Reeser couldn’t understand the consequences.

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Information from: Erie Times-News, http://www.goerie.com

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