Thousand Oaks Boy Pleads Not Guilty to Fatally Shooting Girl : Hearing: Counsel says 17-year-old defendant suffers from attention-deficit disorder and cannot control his impulses. Prosecutors believe shooting was accidental.

A Thousand Oaks teen-ager charged with fatally shooting his girlfriend while playing with a loaded handgun has an attention-deficit disorder and is unable to control his impulses, the boy’s attorney said Tuesday as the youth pleaded not guilty to a murder charge.

In a Juvenile Court hearing, defense lawyer Victor Furio asked a Ventura County Superior Court judge to appoint a psychologist to examine the 17-year-old youth, who prosecutors say was brandishing the gun when it discharged July 12.

Jacqueline Reay, 16, was shot once in the eye and died at a hospital. Prosecutors have charged the boy with one count of murder and two counts of brandishing a firearm.

Because they believe the shooting was accidental, prosecutors are not seeking to try the boy as an adult or to convict him of first-degree murder. Instead, they are asking that he be convicted as a juvenile of second-degree murder.

At Tuesday’s hearing, Superior Court Judge Steven Z. Perren set the youth’s trial for Sept. 12. The judge also ordered the boy back in court Thursday so two other issues in the case can be decided. One motion is to have the psychologist appointed, and the other is to determine whether the boy will be released to the custody of his mother, a Postal Service employee.

The youth’s mother and two sisters, ages 20 and 22, attended the hearing, with several other of his supporters. The victim’s parents were not present.

A husky teen-ager with cropped brown hair, the boy seemed alert and in relatively good spirits throughout the brief hearing. After Furio waived the boy’s right to a speedy trial to allow the defense more time to prepare for the case, the youth told the judge he was in agreement with his attorney.

Since first being arrested, the boy has adjusted somewhat to the confined and orderly environment of Juvenile Hall, Furio said outside court. On suicide watch when he was first brought to the county juvenile lockup, the boy is no longer distraught and a risk to harm himself, the lawyer said.

Prosecutors said the boy should remain in custody.

“He should be detained because he committed a murder,” argued Deputy Dist. Atty. Donald C. Glynn. “He’s dangerous.”

Furio listed several reasons the judge should release the defendant at Thursday’s court appearance. “No. 1, he can complete high school,” commented the lawyer from Woodland Hills. “He can see his attorney more frequently. He can see his psychologist more often.”

At one point while talking to reporters, Furio seemed exasperated by questions about what caused his client to wave and point a gun at people. He said he would not discuss the evidence in the case, but said of the boy, “He’s not a criminal. He’s a kid involved in an accidental shooting.”

The lawyer did say the boy’s alleged impulse-control problem leaves him unable to control his actions. With the attention-span deficit, the boy “can’t keep his mind on one thing for very long,” the lawyer contended.

Combined, he said, those two behavioral factors contributed to the fateful shooting.

“This is very important evidence,” Furio said. “If he isn’t allowed to present it, . . . he won’t be allowed his right to a fair trial.”