Judge Finds Youth Guilty of Murder in Russian Roulette

A Sylmar Juvenile Court judge ruled Wednesday that a 14-year-old Valencia youth who shot 13-year-old Gabriel Soto during a one-sided game of Russian roulette in May is guilty of second-degree murder, instead of the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter.

Judge Morton Rochman ruled that the youth, who frequently played what the youth termed “controlled Russian roulette,” knew the risks when he pulled the trigger of the .357 magnum revolver--loaded with four rounds--but did it anyway.

Question of Intent

In closing arguments, Public Defender Edward Van Gelder did not contest the basic facts but argued that the killing should be defined as voluntary manslaughter because the youth intended no harm.

The defendant’s friends testified during the two-day trial that the defendant frequently brought out his father’s gun, loaded it with one cartridge, aimed at them or household objects, then pulled the trigger. Van Gelder said the defendant, who moved to Valencia from Oregon in April, was only trying to win friends in a new town by showing off.

In a confession after the shooting, the youth said he usually checked the gun to be sure that the hammer would fall only on an unloaded chamber when he pulled the trigger.

“Every bit of evidence indicates someone trying to make friends and to show off,” Van Gelder said. “His friends seem to enjoy this great adventure. From his point of view . . . the gun was like a magnet, a pied piper--bringing him friends, bringing him attention and bringing him popularity.”

Van Gelder pointed out that none of the youth’s three friends who testified thought that the defendant intended to hurt anybody. Each continued to come to his house and play with him, although they were sometimes frightened by the gun.

“Never in his wildest imagination did he think this could happen,” Van Gelder said. “It was dangerous horseplay that got out of hand.”

Characterized as Bully

But Deputy Dist. Atty. Chesley McKay characterized the defendant as a bully who used the gun to assert his superiority over his friends. “He enjoyed making people scared. He wanted to bully them,” McKay said.

Benjamin Brady, 14, testified that the youth once held the gun to the back of his head and pulled the trigger five times, stopping only when Brady pretended to faint.

McKay said that when the youth could not scare Gabriel Soto, he resorted to pulling the trigger--although he had put four cartridges in the gun.

Aaron Schwartz testified that during nearly 15 minutes of horseplay with the gun preceding the killing, he was terrified that the gun would go off, but that Soto seemed unafraid.

Eventually, Schwartz said, the defendant loaded the gun with additional rounds, pointed it at Soto’s head from about four feet away, said, “See, Gabriel isn’t afraid,” then pulled the trigger, killing Soto.

McKay said: “He couldn’t scare Gabriel. It went through his mind that the only thing left to do was pull the trigger.

“It was cold-blooded, second-degree murder,” McKay said. “He appreciated what he was doing.”

Parents Chastised

Rochman called the death tragic and senseless, and chastised the defendant’s parents, who were in court, for allowing him access to the gun. Rochman also said the parents should have realized that their son had a drinking problem.

The defendant--who sat through two days of proceedings with his face in his hands, never looking up--displayed no reaction as the judge announced the verdict.

Sentencing is scheduled Sept. 18. If he had been found guilty of voluntary manslaughter, he would have faced a maximum penalty of 13 years to life in prison. The maximum penalty for the second-degree murder conviction is 17 years to life, although juvenile offenders must be released from custody by age 25.