PASADENA : Man Pleads Not Guilty in Death of 12-Year-Old Boy
An Altadena man pleaded not guilty in Pasadena Municipal Court on Friday to murder charges stemming from the death of a 12-year-old boy who was struck by an apparently stray bullet as he stepped off a bus near his home.
Errol Smith, 23, is charged in the killing of Justin Scott, also of Altadena, who died at Huntington Memorial hospital after he was shot March 21 at Altadena Drive and Lincoln Avenue.
Investigators say Smith shot at a group of about a dozen gang members who were vandalizing his parked car.
The detectives say the Little Leaguer was a bystander who got caught in the line of fire.
Police say Smith has admitted firing the fatal shot, saying that he feared the gang members were about to attack him. His lawyer, Roger Jensen, said Smith began firing only after the gang members began throwing rocks and approaching his car.
But Sheriff’s Detective John Gentzvein has said Smith had no reason to pull out his semiautomatic pistol and fire four rounds. “We have no evidence he was being attacked,” Gentzvein said.
Smith is being held without bail.
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