Youth Charged With Murder in Boy’s Death

Murder charges were filed Thursday against a Valencia teen-ager who shot a 13-year-old boy to death during a one-sided game of Russian roulette, authorities said.

The 14-year-old boy was charged in Sylmar Juvenile Hall with one count of murder in the fatal shooting Tuesday of Gabriel Soto, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Michelle Rosenblatt.

Los Angeles County sheriff’s investigators said the boy shot Soto once in the head with a large-caliber revolver at the Valencia apartment where he lived with his parents, who were not home at the time.

Authorities said the suspect had possession of the gun at all times during the game. They also said it appeared that Soto and a third boy, identified as 14-year-old Aaron Schwartz, were reluctant participants in the game and were probably prevented from leaving the apartment.

Authorities said the suspect first spun the chamber on the gun and aimed the weapon at either his own head or at one of his companions. They said the boy did this several times before Soto was eventually shot.

The youth remains in custody at Sylmar Juvenile Hall and is scheduled to be arraigned today, Rosenblatt said.

If convicted, he could serve his sentence in the California Youth Authority until he is 25.