3 Charged in Fatal Jewelry Store Holdup : Killings: Two of the suspects could face the death pena but the youth who was allegedly the gunman is too young to be tried as an adult.

A 15-year-old boy who police say was the triggerman was one of three people charged Wednesday in the murders of a Pasadena jewelry store owner and her 11-year-old son during a bungled robbery.

The suspects, who police say are members of a ring that specializes in jewelry store robberies, were arraigned on murder and attempted robbery charges in Pasadena Municipal Court and Juvenile Court. If convicted, the two adults could face the death penalty, but the teen-ager, one year too young to be tried as an adult, faces a maximum of less than 10 years in jail.

“For a crime like this, where a woman and a child were basically executed, 10 years is, in my opinion, too little,” said Philip Wynn, head of the Los Angeles County district attorney’s Pasadena office.

A fourth suspect, believed to be the driver of a getaway car, was being held without bail pending the filing of charges. Police are still searching for another man, known only as “Bubba,” who allegedly cased the jewelry store shortly before the Feb. 25 murders. According to Pasadena Police Cmdr. Donn Burwell, the 15-year-old and Bubba entered City Jewelry in the 400 block of East Colorado Boulevard about 6 p.m., looked around and left.

Fifteen minutes later, the teen-age gunman, whose name was not released, and Bonnie Doreen Knoll, 29, of Corona entered the store owned by Ling anddaily Ana Yu and tried to rob it, police say.

“Shooting began when the gunman reached into his waistband and pulled out a gun,” Burwell said. “At that point, the owner (Ling Yu) yelled, ‘Get out of here!’ and pulled out his gun and pointed it at the robber.”

The gunman began firing with a .380-caliber semiautomatic pistol, hitting Ana Yu in the neck and chest, killing her instantly, Burwell said. The Yus’ 11-year-old son, Johnny, was shot in the head. He died the next day. Johnny and a younger sister were often at the store, neighboring merchants said.

The actions of the 15-year-old gunman, Bubba and Knoll were captured on videotape by surveillance cameras in the store, Burwell said. Pictures from the tapes were distributed through newspapers and television broadcasts, bringing hundreds of tips. One of the tips eventually led to the arrest of Knoll at her Corona apartment March 31, and then the arrests of the other suspects, the commander said.

Also arrested were Christopher John Lynch, 31, of Hollywood and Mario Day King, 29, of Hawthorne. They are both believed to have driven getaway cars, Burwell said. Lynch is Knoll’s boyfriend, police said, and King was a friend of Lynch.

The 15-year-old had no known connection to the other suspects except through robberies, Burwell said.

“It appears that he was probably recruited for this purpose,” the commander said.

Because he is a juvenile, the boy cannot be held for any reason later than his 25th birthday, said Marlene Sanchez, head of the district attorney’s Pasadena Juvenile Division. He will turn 16 in May.

Lynch and the 15-year-old have been in custody since March 21 in connection with an attempted robbery of a copier store in El Segundo. The two allegedly held up the store to take a $70,000 color copier, but a stolen truck they had brought to transport the machine was too small, police said.

Charges are pending against King, who was arrested Tuesday at his home in Hawthorne, police said.

Knoll and Lynch have each been charged with two counts of murder and one count of conspiracy to commit robbery. The special circumstances of having committed murder in the commission of a felony and of having committed multiple murders make them subject to either the death penalty or life without parole.

Investigators allege that Knoll, Lynch and King had cased other jewelry stores in Pasadena and Arcadia, though no robberies are known to have occurred in the other locations.

Burwell said that statements made by the suspects and other evidence have led police to believe that the suspects constituted a group that specialized in robbing jewelry stores.