Bellaire teen sentenced in classmate death

A teenager accused last year of fatally shooting his Bellaire High School classmate has been sentenced to 12 years in prison, according to Harris County Juvenile Division Chief John Jordan.

The teen has not been identified because he was 16 at the time of the Jan. 14 shooting. He was charged with manslaughter in the death 19year-old Bellaire High senior and Army recruit Cesar Cortes.

Both teens were part of the school’s JROTC program, according to earlier reports. At the time, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said she believed the shooting was unintentional.

“He did not, based on the evidence, intend to kill his friend — but he did. That’s reckless,” Ogg said. “This young person is going to have to live with that for the rest of their life.”

The accused teen was found guilty of manslaughter in a virtual trial.

He will start his sentence as a juvenile, Jordan said. A judge will later determine whether he will be transferred to the adult prison system before his 19th birthday.

Jordan, the juvenile division chief, and Harris County Assistant District Attorney Amanda Zelisko prosecuted the case.

The shooting jolted the school community. It took place on campus around 4 p.m., triggering a massive law enforcement response as many students left for the day.

After the incident, hundreds of Cortes’ peers flocked to a candlelight vigil at Evelyn's Park, where Bellaire Mayor Andrew Friedberg and Cortes’ brother addressed the grieving crowd.

“I will miss him, and he did not die in vain,” said the brother, Dylan Cortes. “Because I will live forward for him and my family.”

Students previously told the Chronicle that Cortes and the accused teen were friends in the same JROTC battalion. The teen had been showing Cortes a pistol when the gun went off.

Cortes’ dream was to become an Army soldier, friends said. He had been counting down the days when he would ship off to basic training in Fort Benning in Georgia.

His friend, 18-year-old Jordan Koy, planned to join him.

“It's just shocking to see that taken away from him,” he said at the time. “He had a great career ahead of him.”