Youth guilty in killings

A 16-year-old boy who shot seven horses in Fresno County, Calif., in March was found guilty on Wednesday on charges of animal cruelty and shooting from a road. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 15 in Fresno Superior Court.

Five horses died of their injuries, according to statements made earlier this year by the Fresno County Sheriff's Department.

Because of his age, the juvenile has not been identified. He appeared before a judge, but did not have a jury trial because of his age, according to detectives with the Fresno County Sheriff's Dept. agricultural task force.

One of the horses who died as a result of the shooting was a yearling half-brother to Leave Me Alone, the winner of the Grade 1 Test Stakes at Saratoga earlier this month.

The yearling was killed at Bud Johnston's Old English Rancho, near Sanger, Calif. Johnston said the yearling colt was not insured.