Man Pleads Not Guilty in Friend’s Fatal Shooting

A 19-year-old Cerritos man pleaded not guilty to a charge of involuntary manslaughter Monday afternoon in the shooting death of a friend he was “horsing around” with, authorities said.

Brian Lowenberg is charged in the death of Jason Ford, 17, also of Cerritos, who died when a single bullet from a 9-millimeter semiautomatic pistol struck him in the head last Thursday, said Deputy Rich Erickson of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

The two youths had been at target practice at a Long Beach shooting range before going to Norwalk, where the shooting occurred. Investigators said Ford and Lowenberg had been cleaning and playing with Lowenberg’s weapon when it discharged.

Lowenberg was being held at County Jail in Los Angeles Monday in lieu of $5,000 bail. His preliminary hearing is set for Aug. 16 at the Downey Municipal Court.