‘It Was Just a Matter of When,’ Friends Say : Violence: Christopher Golly had many fights with his father and had developed a drug habit, according to a group of youths.

A portrait of a disturbed, drug abusing teen-ager who had previously talked of killing his father emerged Tuesday in the hours after police say the youth shot his father, a rookie police officer and finally himself.

Friends described 17-year-old Christopher Golly as a quiet youth and an undisciplined student who had developed a daily habit of snorting crystal Methedrine, a highly addictive form of amphetamine.

“He was into speed pretty bad,” said James Carieri, 18, a friend in a tightly knit group of teen-agers who met at Granada Hills High School, where Chris was a student until May. “It made him really pumped, really amped. I also think it messed up his head because sometimes he was on the crazy side.”

During the last few months, Chris told several close friends that he had been on the verge of killing his father and only stopped himself because he was too frightened, Carieri said.

“He thought about it a lot,” Carieri said. “He had a lot of pretty serious fistfights with his dad, and would later call (me) up and say: ‘I almost did it. I almost did it.’ . . . He didn’t do it because he didn’t have the nerve, I guess. But it was just a matter of when.”

Until December, Chris had been enrolled at a continuation school, West Granada High School, after he transferred there from Granada Hills High School in May, 1993. At the regular high school, he had been unable to keep up with assignments because he frequently skipped classes, school officials said. In January he began a home study program.

“He didn’t like school,” said Scott Weingarten, 17, who had known Chris about three years. “If he went to school, he’d do good, but he didn’t go much.”

Chris liked playing video games and pool and he and his friends favored “speed metal,” a driving, guitar-based music influenced by punk and heavy metal. He and many of his male friends wore haircuts closely cropped on the sides and long on top.

Chris however had frequently clashed with his father, Steven Golly, an electrical equipment supplier who had a reputation for being a strict disciplinarian. The two lived in a Northridge house on Amestoy Avenue with another woman and her son. Chris’ mother, Pamela Golly, died several years ago while she and his father were going through a divorce.

One neighbor, Alexander Frankel--who lived near the Gollys for more than 15 years--said Steven Golly was an unfriendly, humorless neighbor who used to treat the family dog roughly during walks, grabbing the animal by the collar and yanking him.

“I always thought he would be a difficult father,” said Frankel’s wife, Shirley.

Neighboring twins Jeff and Jason Feger, 13, said Chris had been a friend for years. They traded baseball cards, watched videos together and played baseball in the street.

Chris had always enjoyed showing off his father’s guns, about 10 of which were kept in a gun case in the living room, “along with plenty of ammo,” Jeff said.

In the last two years, some neighbors said, Chris began acting the part of a tough kid--ditching school, neglecting studies and using drugs.

Neighbor Feri Niaki said Chris had scared her two weeks ago while he was shooting a pistol at a bird’s nest in her back yard. She said she yelled at him to stop but became frightened and fled inside her house.

As he waited to be interviewed at the Devonshire police station on Tuesday morning, Matt Conner said he was Chris’ best friend and had been at the family’s house Monday night when Chris and his father were arguing. Conner said Chris was angry, talking about getting back at his father, perhaps even killing him.

“I tried to talk him out of it,” Conner said. “He said he wasn’t going to do it; to shoot his father. They were having problems. They were arguing. Family matters. He just said he had had enough. He snapped, basically.”

Two of Chris’ friends who stopped by the house Tuesday after the shooting described Chris as a daily drug user.

“He sold speed to his little buddies,” in relatively small amounts, said Jamie Kushner, 18. “He wasn’t big time. But he was definitely hooked. He’s been doing it maybe six months.”

Kushner said he met Chris because the two were part of a group of teen-agers who shared interests in drugs, alcohol and music. He said Chris loved bands such as Pantera, Ministry and Metallica.

“We partied,” Kushner said. “That was our relationship. We had real good times, teen-age stuff. We drank our beer, smoked our weed.”