A 20-year-old Red Bluff man has been sentenced for his part in a gang-related murder. In September of 2024 a 16-year-old boy was shot to death while standing in his front yard on Oak Street. Red Bluff Police Detectives traced the crime to three individuals. The shooter, Blake Bush, was 17-years-old at the time. He agreed in February to be tried as an adult and pled guilty to second degree murder with a special allegation of using a gun. He was sentenced in April to 25 years to life in state prison. An accomplice, Ryan Piper, was just 15 at the time and admitted to voluntary manslaughter. Last September he was sentenced as a juvenile to serve the maximum of 5 years in a secure youth treatment facility. The gun was provided by Nathon Olney Reep, who was 19-years-old at the time. He made a plea deal for voluntary manslaughter, supplying a firearm to commit a felony and aiding gang activity. He’s been given a 13 year state prison sentence.
-Steve Gibson