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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A 16-year-old girl charged as an adult in the shooting death of a 7-year-old girl has pleaded guilty to second-degree felony manslaughter.
Mae Goodman Johnson entered the plea Thursday in 3rd District Court. She had been charged with first-degree felony murder in the July 6 death of Maria Menchaca.
According to charging documents, Johnson and two others -- Frank Puga Benavidez, who was 20, and Gabriel Alejandro Alvarez, then 16 -- drove in an SUV to Menchaca's home to confront Menchaca's 20-year-old cousin over a fight from earlier in the day.
Alvarez allegedly shot a gun, killing the girl. Benavidez and Alvarez are charged with aggravated murder.
Johnson will be sentenced on Jan. 16. Her attorney, Clayton Simms, says she pleaded guilty to take responsibility.
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Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
