2 Teen-Agers in Firebomb Case Won’t Face Charges

Two teen-agers have been detained in connection with the Aug. 30 firebombing of two black families at the Ramona Gardens housing development, but there is insufficient evidence to charge them with that crime, authorities said Monday.

Lt. Willie Thompson, acting chief of the Housing Authority Police, said his officers identified suspects within a week of the bombing, but it took two weeks to gather enough evidence for search warrants.

However, when they conducted those searches early Saturday, “we found no physical evidence and we’ve got no witness stepping forward, so it is very unlikely we will be able to charge anyone with arson in this case,” Thompson said.

Thompson said the two principal suspects--alleged gang members 14 and 15 years old--were among seven youths detained Saturday in pre-dawn raids by the Housing Authority Police and the Los Angeles Fire Department. The raids were conducted in and around the housing development.

No physical evidence was found connecting the two youths in custody, both Latinos, to the firebombing, but narcotics were found at one site and a firearm at another, Thompson said.

One suspect is being held in connection with illegal narcotics possession and another with illegal possession of a gun, Thompson said. Their names are being withheld in accordance with Juvenile Court protocol.

“At this point we don’t know--and we’ll probably never know--the motive in the firebombing,” Thompson said, when asked if the attacks were racially motivated. “The two suspects aren’t talking . . . but I think we sent the message that this sort of thing won’t be tolerated.”

The attacks, which virtually destroyed the homes of two of the seven African-American families in the largely Latino project, took residents and victims by surprise. Ramona Gardens, the city’s oldest public housing development, has long lived under gang vigilance, but racial tensions were not considered critical.

When news of the firebombing became public last week, there were reports of possible retaliation by African-American gang members, and officials and some community leaders were fearful that the incident would inflame smoldering tensions between Latinos and African-Americans citywide.

On Monday, it appeared that the whole incident will be closed without a formal resolution.