Man Pleads Guilty to Lesser Charge in Shooting

A North Hollywood man pleaded guilty Thursday to a reduced charge in connection with the Jan. 9 shooting of 12-year-old Tiffany Dozier in front of the Boys & Girls Club in Pacoima.

Tremayne Stevenson, 20, pleaded guilty to discharging a firearm in a grossly negligent manner. He entered the plea before the start of his preliminary hearing on a murder charge.

Stevenson is scheduled to be sentenced April 23 in San Fernando Superior Court. He faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison, but Deputy Dist. Atty. Karen Parsons said Stevenson will probably be sentenced to probation with up to one year in County Jail.

Parsons, who is with the office’s gang unit, said she agreed to reduce the charges in exchange for the guilty plea because Stevenson is not believed to have been the primary shooter in the incident.

“Our further investigation indicates that he was firing into the air, not trying to kill anybody,” Parsons said. “He’s not the killer.”

Two juveniles, one a 16-year-old who police say was the shooter, face a hearing April 22 in Juvenile Court to determine if they should be tried as adults.

Dozier, who was a member of her church’s choir and a cheerleader, was fatally shot as she waited with a crowd of teen-agers outside the Boys & Girls Club after a dance organized by parents to keep their children out of trouble. They were also trying to raise money to send club members--including Dozier--to a leadership conference in Orange County.

When rival gang members from Inglewood and North Hollywood began fighting outside the club, a car drove up and someone inside began shooting at the crowd, hitting Dozier in the back.