Teen-Ager Faces Trial as Adult in Boy’s Slaying

A 17-year-old gang member charged with shooting and killing a 10-year-old boy as the youngster played with a group of children near Pacoima Park pleaded not guilty Tuesday and will be tried as an adult, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Cesar C. Sarmiento successfully petitioned Thursday to have the Pacoima teen-ager tried as an adult in the killing of Alejandro Salazar on July 20. Alejandro, who lived near the park on Pierce Street, was hit by a bullet in the back of his head as he stood with a group of children near the park.

The shooting stemmed from a dispute between Latino and black gangs over a pair of red trousers worn by a 14-year-old Latino boy, Officer Jay St. John said.

Five black youths confronted three Latino boys and punched the one wearing red pants because red is a rival gang’s color, St. John said. As the black youths were leaving, the 17-year-old, who had not been involved in the fracas, fired two shots at their car, witnesses said.

One of the shots struck Alejandro, St. John said.

If the teen-ager is convicted of first-degree murder, he could be sentenced to 25 years to life in state prison, Sarmiento said. Had he been convicted as a juvenile, he could have been sentenced to the custody of the California Youth Authority, which could not hold him beyond his 25th birthday, Sarmiento said.

San Fernando Municipal Court Commissioner Charles L. Peven ordered the gang member held in County Jail until an appearance Sept. 10, when a preliminary hearing will be scheduled.