Tighter Restrictions Placed on Boy Charged in Slaying

The 12-year-old boy accused of murdering a popular Monrovia bicycle store owner has become such a behavioral problem at Los Angeles Juvenile Hall that a judge Thursday ordered him placed in a more restrictive setting at the facility.

Pasadena Juvenile Court Judge Sherrill D. Luke, citing a recent probation report, said the boy fought with another student, shouted expletives at a teacher, refused to attend classes and was disciplined for bad language, horseplay and agitation.

Luke, who set the boy’s trial for Sept. 8, also discussed a psychological profile the court commissioned to gain insight into the state of mind of the sixth-grader, whose name is being withheld because of his age.

The judge said the report indicates the boy has above-average intelligence and high verbal skills. The report uncovered no signs of mental instability, depression or abuse but concluded that the boy has significant problems controlling his aggressive impulses and anger, and needs behavioral modification treatment in a supervised, closed setting.

Ron Applegate, the boy’s attorney, said he was disappointed with the findings. “It doesn’t reveal anything . . . there’s no attempt at any explanation as to what would cause this behavior,” Applegate said.

Applegate said he was also puzzled by the probation report because the boy has received four certificates of good behavior and progress from various teachers since his incarceration at Juvenile Hall.

The boy has been an enigma to authorities from the start. He had no police record, was not in a gang and lived with a two-parent family. He did have a history of discipline problems in the sixth grade, where he fought constantly with students, disturbed class and swore at teachers.

The defendant is charged with murder in the death of Jung Sam Woo, who owned Bicycle Sam’s, a store beloved by the neighborhood. Woo was shot once in the back of the head on March 11 as children played and rode bikes in the parking lot.

The boy, who lives several blocks away in Monrovia, was arrested after two schoolmates who accompanied the boy to the store that day called the police to report the crime. The motive remains unclear.