Suspect Arrested After Boy, 16, Is Shot, Critically Wounded in Melee

A Lancaster man was arrested Saturday on suspicion of shooting and critically injuring a 16-year-old boy during a brawl in a fast-food restaurant parking lot, sheriff’s officials said.

The youth, whose name was withheld, has been placed on life-support systems and was listed in extremely critical condition at Antelope Valley Hospital Medical Center because the bullet severed his spine, said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Larry Lincoln.

Benny Bernard Chase III, 20, was arrested at an apartment building in the 43200 block of Gadsden Avenue near Avenue K-8 at 4:40 p.m. Saturday, Lincoln said.

Chase was arrested on charges of assault with a deadly weapon, and he was being held at the Antelope Valley station on $30,000 bail, Lincoln said.

The boy apparently shot at Chase just prior to being wounded, but Lincoln said the teen-ager will not face charges unless his condition improves.

Palmdale resident Michael Alacon, 21, suffered a stab wound in the upper body during the incident, which occurred at 11:30 p.m. Friday. He was treated at the same hospital and his condition was stable, Lincoln said.

Although the fight pitted a group of about five Latinos against a similar number of blacks, it was not clear if the confrontation was racially motivated, Lincoln said. The melee took place in the parking lot of a Taco Bell restaurant at 2729 W. Avenue L, Lincoln said.

The Latinos confronted the blacks about a purse snatching, Lincoln said. When Alacon stepped between the two groups and tried to quell the argument, he apparently was knifed by one of the blacks, Lincoln said.