Shootout Suspect, 17, May Be Tried as Adult

Prosecutors will seek to try as an adult one of two Santa Paula juveniles involved in a gang-related gunfight last week on a crowded Ventura beach, authorities said.

A 17-year-old boy involved in the shootout that left hundreds of beach-goers scrambling for cover Thursday faces an Aug. 27 hearing to determine whether he will be charged as an adult, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Patricia J. Kelliher.

In a Ventura County juvenile court hearing Tuesday, the boy pleaded not guilty to felony charges of discharging a firearm with gross negligence, possessing a deadly weapon, carrying a loaded firearm and being a minor in possession of a firearm.

He faces up to four years and four months in the California Youth Authority if convicted as a minor, Kelliher said.

Another boy, a 16-year-old alleged to belong to a second Santa Paula gang, pleaded not guilty to charges of aiding and abetting an assault with a firearm and aiding and abetting the negligent discharge of a firearm during a separate hearing Tuesday.

The younger boy could receive four years and eight months in CYA if found guilty, Kelliher said. His court trial is scheduled Aug. 26.

Two other alleged gang members--Alejandro Garcia, 19, and Ramiro E. Montano, 20--pleaded not guilty on Monday in Ventura County Municipal Court to various felony charges as a result of the gunfight.

Police said members of the rival gangs spotted each other coincidentally at a beach near the south jetty at Ventura Harbor and began shooting. No one was injured.

Two others were arrested in the incident, but prosecutors on Monday declined to pursue charges against them.