Youth to Be Tried as Adult in Fatal Shooting of Girl

An Inglewood teen-ager who was found unfit to be tried as a juvenile in the murder of a 12-year-old girl in front of the Boys & Girls Club in Pacoima will be tried as an adult in San Fernando Superior Court.

After a preliminary hearing last week, Damian Vann, now 18, was ordered to stand trial in the Jan. 9 killing of Tiffany Dozier of Pacoima. According to police, Dozier was shot in the back as she and others tried to run away after a fight broke out among rival gangs in front of the youth center.

Police Detective Gary Holbrook testified that Vann, who was 17 at the time of the incident, admitted to the shooting during an interview at the police station, but that Vann said he only fired into a crowd after hearing a gunshot and seeing a group of teen-agers running toward him.

A second teen-ager had also been charged in the case, but prosecutors decided not to pursue charges against him.

A third man, Tremayne Stevenson, 20, pleaded guilty to discharging a firearm in a grossly negligent manner in connection with the shooting. He was sentenced in April to three years probation and the 154 days he had already served in County Jail while awaiting trial.