A judge has ruled that 17-year-old Nathaniel Jouett, charged in the Clovis library mass shooting that happened last year, will be sentenced as an adult. 

According to a news release, Jouett’s defense attorney Stephan Taylor had filed a motion asking the court to conduct a hearing and to find Jouett amenable to treatment. This would have allowed Jouett to enter a rehabilitation facility and be released at age 21. 

However, in the court’s order, the amenability hearing was denied and Jouett will be sentenced as an adult. 

Jouett pleaded guilty in October to all charges stemming from the mass shooting that happened Aug. 28, 2017, at the Clovis Carver Public Library. 

“It was a very thought out, well researched opinion by the honorable Judge Hudson,” said Ninth Judicial District Attorney Andrea Reeb. “I was very concerned that we would have a dangerous individual walking the streets very quickly after such a tragic event.”

“It’s somewhat disheartening for the defense. We were hopeful that the court would consider Nathaniel for an amenability hearing,” said Jouett’s attorney, Stephen Taylor.

Jouett’s sentence hearing is set to begin Feb. 11, 2019. 

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