CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : VISTA : Shooting Victim Awarded $195,000

A Mono County teacher who was lecturing a class of students when she was hit by a bullet fired from a high-powered rifle from 1.7 miles away has been awarded $195,000 by a Vista Superior Court jury. Ruling in favor of Patricia Holland-Suppa, 29, of Lee Vining, jurors found that one of two hunters who were target-shooting Oct. 4, 1985, fired the rifle negligently. Her husband, Joseph Suppa, 30, was awarded $10,000 for loss of marital companionship. Holland-Suppa’s elbow was fractured by the bullet as she was teaching English at Mammoth High School. The case was tried in Vista, in northern San Diego County, because one of the hunters, a retired Marine Corps captain, lives there. The other hunter is an El Segundo police officer.