Man's sentencing in death of teen postponed

The sentencing of a Philadelphia man convicted this year by a Common Pleas Court jury of manslaughter for shooting a teenager after a snowball fight has been postponed to Jan. 15.

Jose Omar Mendez, 26, was to have been sentenced yesterday for killing 15-year-old Teven Rutledge after being struck with a snow ball.

Mendez approached Rutledge with a gun shortly after snowball fight in the 4800 block of D Street in Feltonville and shot the youth in the head. Mendez claimed he was threatened with a knife, which other witnesses denied.

Mendez's sentencing was delayed because Mendez's attorney was tied up in another trial, said Assistant District Attorney Deborah Watson-Stokes. Mendez is facing 10 to 20 years in prison. - Nathan Gorenstein