NEWBURY PARK : Youths Deny Guilt in Woman’s Shooting

Attorneys entered not-guilty pleas Friday for two teen-agers accused of shooting a pregnant Newbury Park woman during a botched drive-by shooting.

At the request of the defense, Municipal Court Judge John E. Dobroth put off until Feb. 28 the preliminary hearing for Danny Duarte of Newbury Park and William Morris of Oxnard, who are both being tried as adults.

Duarte, 17, and Morris, now 18, fired more than 30 rounds into the woman’s house during the Oct. 18 incident, prosecutors say.

A juvenile court judge ordered the pair to be tried as adults earlier this month.

The case of a third youth, who is accused of driving the car but not of firing any shots, is being handled in Juvenile Court.

Duarte and Morris were present in court Friday with their lawyers. Duarte is free on $20,000 bail, while Morris is being held in lieu of the same bail. Both defendants waived their right to have a preliminary hearing within 10 days after the arraignment.

Ed Whipple, Duarte’s private attorney, declined to comment outside court. Deputy Public Defender Todd Howeth, Morris’ lawyer, said the extra time will allow the defense to prepare for the preliminary hearing.

Both teen-agers face up to 12 years in state prison if convicted.

“We need to do a lot of investigation,” Howeth said. “There are a lot of witnesses, and they need to be interviewed before we proceed to the first hearing.”

Prosecutors have said that Duarte and Morris sprayed gunfire at the woman’s home in retaliation for an earlier drive-by attack. But they were on the wrong street and shooting at the wrong house, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. Kim G. Gibbons.

The victim suffered a minor injury to her leg.

She gave birth to a daughter earlier this month.