ANAHEIM HILLS : Murder Suspect to Be Held in Juvenile Hall

Citing his “potential danger” to others, a judge Monday ordered a 17-year-old Anaheim Hills boy who killed two classmates in separate shootings to be held in Orange County Juvenile Hall pending his murder trial.

Richard H. Bourassa Jr., who was not charged until last Friday with the May 24 killing of 17-year-old Christian Wiedepuhl in the Bourassa family home, had been attending high school in San Bernardino County.

Dressed in black cotton pants and shirt and sporting a crew cut, Bourassa made his first court appearance Monday to surrender on charges of murder and involuntary manslaughter. He did not speak but, through attorney Edward Allen, denied the charges.

The youth displayed no emotion during the proceedings or as he was handcuffed and led out of the chambers to Juvenile Hall next door. He has told authorities that both shootings--of Jeffrey Bush, 13, on Sept. 13, 1986, and of Wiedepuhl four months ago--were accidental.

His stepfather and mother, who dabbed away tears, attended the afternoon hearing but declined to comment.

In arguing that Bourassa be incarcerated, Deputy Dist. Atty. Kathi Harper told Orange County Superior Court Judge Michael Brenner that the investigation has revealed that the stocky former Canyon High School wrestler “has a fascination, if not an obsession, with firearms” and poses “a substantial threat to society.” She would not elaborate outside court but has filed documents seeking to try Bourassa as an adult because of the seriousness of the charges, the previous shooting and his approaching 18th birthday.

Bourassa is facing a charge of murder, which is killing with malice of forethought, as well as a lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter, in which malice does not have to be proven. The lesser charge was filed so that in the event Bourassa is found not guilty of murder, jurors will have an alternative, Harper said.

Attorney Allen argued that “there is no evidence of any premeditation in this case” and that his client has no criminal record. He said Bourassa has cooperated with authorities since moments after he reported the shooting and has consented to extensive police interviews taped on audio and videocassettes.

Allen also told Brenner that Bourassa could have “been long gone” since learning Friday that he was charged with Wiedepuhl’s murder but instead had appeared in court on the next working day. He added that Bourassa has been attending high school full time and working full time while living outside the county with relatives.

In the first shooting, Bourassa was with classmate Jeffrey Bush in the upstairs office of the Bourassa home about 4 p.m. Jeffrey held a .22-caliber handgun, while Bourassa had a 12-gauge shotgun, authorities said. Both weapons belonged to Bourassa’s stepfather. Bourassa said that the shotgun accidentally discharged and that pellets struck Jeffrey in the chest and head. He died the following morning.

Police ruled that shooting an accident, said they discussed it by phone with a member of the district attorney’s office and did not submit the case for possible charges.

On May 24, at roughly the same time of day, Bourassa again had a classmate and a gun in the family study. This time, authorities said, the weapon was a .38-caliber revolver also belonging to Bourassa’s stepfather. It had been kept, Harper said, between two blankets in the headboard of his parents’ bed. Bourassa removed it, but Harper has not said whether the gun was already loaded.

Bourassa told investigators that he was showing Wiedepuhl the gun when it accidentally fired. Wiedepuhl was shot in the head, the bullet entering over his right eye. He died the following morning.

Harper said Friday that she had insufficient evidence to charge Bourassa in the Jeffrey Bush shooting, in part because the physical evidence is gone and there remain few police reports on the incident.