A woman who police say confessed to arming her 12-year-old nephew before he fatally shot a Sonic employee in 2023 pleaded guilty Friday to murder and has been sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Ashley Marmolejo Gomez was in court Friday for a pretrial hearing. A grand jury indicted Marmolejo on a murder charge earlier this year after police said she handed her nephew a weapon and said, “go,” directing him to defend his uncle, who was involved in a fight outside the restaurant.

Marmolejo agreed to a plea deal in the case and was sentenced to 25 years in state prison.

> This is justice that we’ve been waiting for … we will continue to fight to keep her locked behind bars even when she comes up for parole. > Leigh Miller, victim’s mother

The deadly encounter began when a customer reported s

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