OXNARD : Youth to Be Tried as Adult in Slaying

A 16-year-old Oxnard boy was ordered Tuesday to stand trial as an adult in the death of his alleged accomplice in a botched robbery attempt last month.

Frank Gonzalez is charged with murder in the shooting death of his friend, Mark Alan Estrada, 16, on Dec. 2. Investigators said Estrada and Gonzalez tried to rob an Oxnard convenience store and Estrada was shot and killed by the shop’s owner.

Under the law, Gonzalez can be held responsible for Estrada’s death, and on Tuesday Deputy Dist. Atty. Peter D. Kossoris argued that he should be tried as an adult. Even though Gonzalez did not kill Estrada, Kossoris said, the youth fired shots and could have injured the storekeeper or his wife, who was also in the shop.

In homicides and other serious crimes, a juvenile aged 16 or 17 is presumed unfit for the juvenile system unless a judge rules that he meets five conditions. A probation investigator said that Gonzalez appeared to fail on two of them: the degree of criminal sophistication, and the gravity of the offense.

Deputy Public Defender John H. Voigtsberger argued that the robbery was “a half-baked idea” that went awry. “Except in the legal sense, my client did not harm the victim,” Voigtsberger said.

Superior Court Judge Robert C. Bradley ruled that Gonzalez was unfit for the juvenile system and ordered him to appear in Municipal Court for arraignment today. He said that he did not believe that Gonzalez intended to kill anyone, but added, “the minor set this matter in motion. You just never know what is going to happen.”

In addition to murder, Gonzalez is charged with attempted murder, attempted robbery and a “special circumstance” allegation that the death occurred during a robbery, Kossoris said. If convicted of the latter charge, Gonzalez could face a life sentence without possibility of parole.

If he had remained in the juvenile system, the maximum penalty would have been confinement with the California Youth Authority until he turned 25.