BUCKEYE, Ariz. — The convicted killer of a 16-year-old boy in Buckeye has been sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Eric A. Buchanan, 18, received his sentence Friday in court after pleading guilty to the second-degree murder of Efrain Escobar.
The teenage athlete was shot to death in November 2021 at a QT gas station in Buckeye. Police said Buchanan was the ex-boyfriend of the victim's girlfriend.
“He had a bright future ahead of him, I don’t know why somebody would want to do this to him," Escobar's family told 12News in 2021.
Buchanan's attorney said he had acted out in a "jealous rage." Prosecutors said Buchanan had acted with pre-meditation since he had made violent threats.
Buchanan apologized to the victim's family in court on Friday before he was sentenced. The judge credited the defendant 563 days for time already served in jail.
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