18-year-old pleads guilty to murder charges

An 18-year-old man accused of gunning down 14-year-old Chaparral High School student Jared Flemming in 2009 pleaded guilty to murder charges, authorities said.

Barron Hamm, who was 17 at the time of the May shooting, pleaded guilty Friday to second-degree murder with use of a deadly weapon and assault with a deadly weapon, said prosecutor Sonia Jimenez.

As part of the plea deal, two felony charges of burglary and carrying a concealed firearm were dropped.

Jimenez said prosecutors retained the right to argue at sentencing on the murder charge and that Hamm would have to serve a minimum of 20 years in prison before being eligible for parole.

Las Vegas police have never been able to pinpoint the exact motive of the shooting, but believe Hamm may have been trying to rob people attending a birthday party for Flemming.

Flemming, a high school freshman who was an avid skateboarder, was killed one day before his 15th birthday. He was shot while running away from the gunman at his sister's apartment near Nellis Boulevard and Sahara Avenue.

A sentencing hearing was scheduled for May 14.