Bellinger to Be Tried as Adult in Shooting of Deaf Brothers

A 16-year-old Long Beach youth charged with shooting two deaf Palmdale brothers--killing one--in a fight that began with a traffic light “stare-down” must stand trial as an adult because of the seriousness of the crime, a Pasadena Juvenile Court judge ruled Wednesday.

Judge Sandy Kriegler made the ruling at the conclusion of a three-day fitness hearing in which defense attorney Gerald L. Fogelman attempted to prove that Joey Paul Bellinger acted in self-defense when he killed Cesar Vieira, 30, and wounded his brother, Edward Vieira, 25.

Bellinger, 16, is charged with murder and attempted murder for the shootings, which took place Jan. 28 in a Granada Hills parking lot after a staring contest at a traffic light led to a fight between the brothers and a carload of youths, including Bellinger.

In deciding whether a teen-ager is fit to be tried in juvenile court, state law requires a judge to consider factors including the youth’s criminal sophistication, previous criminal history, potential for rehabilitation and the gravity of the offense against him.

Bellinger has no criminal history and probably could be rehabilitated, the judge said, but the seriousness of the charge necessitates that he be tried as an adult.

Although Bellinger, his friends and the victims were all responsible for the confrontation, “there is nothing whatsoever to indicate that this minor was in danger,” Kriegler said. “Try as I might, I can’t find it here.”

Kriegler ordered that Bellinger continue to be held without bail at Sylmar Juvenile Hall, rather than be sent to an adult jail.

During the hearing, teen-agers who were with Bellinger testified that he fired the shots as one of the brothers was within striking distance of him and the other was charging toward him.

But prosecutors argued that Bellinger’s friends had changed their stories to protect him.

After reviewing recordings of earlier police interviews with the witnesses, Kriegler concurred.

“I tried, I searched, and I cannot find mitigating factors,” the judge said.

Kriegler also discounted last-minute testimony that Bellinger did not know the gun was loaded when he fired.

Juan Carlos Jaramillo testified Wednesday that he had loaded Bellinger’s gun earlier in the day but never told Bellinger. Jaramillo said that he never told authorities that because he feared that he would be punished.

Another friend said that shortly before the shooting, Bellinger told her that the gun was empty, after he pointed it at her head and his own head.

But Kriegler questioned why Bellinger himself never claimed that he was unaware the gun was loaded.

“If he had not known the gun was loaded, that would have been mentioned,” in interviews with a county probation officer and a court-appointed psychiatrist, Kriegler said.

Bellinger’s father, Joseph Bellinger Sr., said he was disappointed with the ruling but not surprised. He said he feared that prosecutors were treating his son harshly because of his own erroneous judgment in helping the teen-ager flee to New York while the elder Bellinger tried to extract a promise from police that his son would be tried as a juvenile. The elder Bellinger has pleaded guilty to aiding a suspected felon.