VENTURA : Teen-Ager Sentenced for Role in Slaying

A Ventura teen-ager who hid an ice pick after it was used to fatally stab another youth was sentenced Wednesday to two years in prison by a judge who said he wanted the defendant to learn “what a civilized society requires.”

Superior Court Judge Allan L. Steele said he did not believe that Anthony Peterson, 18, was in a panic when he hid the weapon used to kill 19-year-old Jasper Fitzgerald during a fight at a party in Ojai on May 14. Instead, Steele said, he believes Peterson acted deliberately to try to help the killer, Ryan Dale Burchell, 19, of Ojai.

“His attitude, his body language in court tells me that this is not a frightened young man . . . who is remorseful, who is sorry,” Steele said of Peterson.

Burchell has pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and is awaiting sentencing. Peterson pleaded guilty to being an accessory to murder.

Peterson initially was arrested on suspicion of murdering Fitzgerald, a childhood friend who had moved to Ohio. A subsequent investigation showed that Peterson did not participate in the slaying, but afterward hid the weapon in a bush a couple of houses from where the stabbing occurred.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael K. Frawley, who urged a prison sentence, said Peterson “fancies himself an intimidator.”

Steele noted that Peterson has a criminal record for drug and curfew violations. As for the numerous letters he received from people who described Peterson as “sweet and gentle,” the judge commented, “I don’t know who they were talking about.”