Teen Who Led Border War Games to Stand Trial in Robberies

An 18-year-old war games buff was ordered Tuesday to stand trial in connection with a series of robberies of illegal migrants.

The teen-ager, Jason Joel MacAllister, formerly headed a teen-age paramilitary group that prowled the San Diego-Mexico border and was featured in a national television broadcast.

Municipal Judge Howard H. Shore ordered MacAllister to stand trial in Superior Court on seven counts of robbery and four counts of attempted robbery stemming from alleged attacks that occurred along the border strip on the evening of Aug. 30.

He and three confederates who were previously bound over for trial could face up to 18 years in prison if convicted on all counts. The four defendants, all of whom have denied the charges, are being held in custody on bails ranging from $50,000 to $60,000.

MacAllister, who turned 18 last month, previously was ordered to stand trial as an adult.

The suspect once served as the “general” of a group of San Diego-area teen-age paramilitary enthusiasts who called themselves the Metal Militia and patrolled the border strip in military garb.

In February, the group’s activities burst on the public scene when Fox Broadcasting aired a sensational segment showing MacAllister and other camouflage-clad confederates appearing to hunt and detain migrants. Afterward, MacAllister and his companions denied harassing or hunting migrants, and accused the program’s producers of staging scenes. Fox officials stood behind the veracity of the program’s content.

The controversy eventually led to the disbanding of the Metal Militia, the expulsion of MacAllister from his high school and a further alienation of the already troubled teen, a psychologist testified during a previous court hearing. MacAllister joined the Job Corps, a federal job-training program, where he met the three others who were eventually arrested in connection with the crime, said Victor Nunez, the deputy San Diego County district attorney who is prosecuting the case.

During Tuesday’s Municipal Court hearing, the prosecutor said, San Diego police detective Edward Medina testified that several victims identified MacAllister and contended that he was carrying a handgun on the night of the crimes, although no such weapon was recovered. The victims, none of whom were injured, included five men, three women and three children, said the prosecutor. The alleged thieves, including MacAllister, wore military-style clothing, Nunez said.

Motivating MacAllister to participate in the crime, according to testimony from a previous court hearing, was the personal thrill of such activities and his desire to have funds to purchase military clothing and perhaps pay his way into organized adult war-games sessions, which often feature guns that fire cartridges filled with paint.

The other suspects are William E. Barnes, 24, Donald T. Young, 22, and Ruben A. Saucedo, 20.