A baby-faced teen has been sentenced to more than 50 years in prison after shooting a five-year-old girl in the neck as part of a gang initiation
Noah Ney, 16, was found guilty of pulling the trigger in the 2022 drive-by shooting in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Thankfully the young girl survived but Ney was charged as an adult for shooting with intent to kill. The shooting was part of an initiation into the town’s Hoover Crips gang, the court heard.
The girl was playing inside her home on North Rockford Avenue when Ney drove by in a stolen car and shot into the house hitting the poor girl in the neck and shoulder.
Assistant Tulsa County District Attorney Morgan Medders told the court: “There were multiple people in the line of fire during the drive-by shooting.
“The five-year-old was transported to hospital by EMSA because of the severity of her injuries and a difference of an inch or two in the penetrating gunshot wounds to the child could have resulted in her death.”
Despite an extremely troubled upbringing, prosecutors argued the teen showed no willingness to participate in rehabilitation.
His aunt said the boy had been neglected his whole life and the court heard his behaviour had got worse during time living with both his aunt and his grandma.
The boy’s mum admitted he had shown cruelty to both people and animals but said she blamed herself. DA Medders said: “A neighbour testified to Noah causing havoc in the neighbourhood by wearing gang colours and carrying guns and knives, and often pulling them on neighbours while threatening them.
“While several extended family members appeared at the certification hearing, those same people have been available to Noah throughout his extensive juvenile history and that did not appear to make a difference.”
Ney and another teenager also managed to escape the juvenile justice centre while a guard was distracted. They were taken back into custody four days later.
Ney was sentenced to 50 years in jail after admitting 12 counts involving firearms, drugs, gangs, theft and assault. The judge scheduled a judicial review for the teen’s sentence in 2028 when it could be reduced if he demonstrates remorse and reform.
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