EL RIO : 2 Teen-Agers Deny Guilt in Shooting

A 13-year-old El Rio girl and her 16-year-old boyfriend have pleaded not guilty to charges they tried to murder the girl’s mother by shooting her in the head while she was driving them in the family van.

The teen-agers, whose names are being withheld because of their ages, are charged with attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder and grand theft auto, Deputy Dist. Atty. Matthew J. Hardy said. They entered their pleas Tuesday in Ventura County Juvenile Court, Hardy said.

“This is not a gang banger case,” Hardy said. “This is something really really weird and strange. We want to take a look and see how dangerous they are.”

They were arrested last week following a high-speed police chase in Northern California, four days after Catherine Beverford of El Rio was shot four times in the head and dropped off at a Ventura County hospital.

Beverford, 34, was in court for her daughter’s arraignment. She still has three bullets in her head, Hardy said.

Beverford told police she was stopped at a traffic signal near her home on March 7 when either her daughter or the boyfriend, who were sitting in the back seat, shot her.

Hardy said the boy is accused of being the shooter.

The daughter and her boyfriend, a Santa Barbara resident, then stole Beverford’s van after leaving her at the hospital, officials said.

Hardy said because the girl is under 14, prosecutors must prove she knew that what she was doing was wrong.

In the boy’s case, the district attorney’s office has filed a request to try the boy as an adult, an option for prosecutors when a juvenile charged with a violent crime is 16 or 17.

A hearing to determine the boy’s fitness to remain in the Juvenile Court system is scheduled April 13, Hardy said.