VENTURA : Boy, 17, to Stand Trial as Adult in Slaying

A 17-year-old boy charged in the fatal shooting of a Cabrillo Village man leaving an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting was ordered Tuesday to stand trial as an adult.

A similar fitness hearing for a second juvenile charged in the Oct. 1 slaying of 37-year-old Jose Guadalupe Gutierrez will be held next week.

On Tuesday, Superior Court Judge Steven Z. Perren ordered Richard Villareal into adult court on a charge that he was one of three assailants who fired shots in the direction of Gutierrez, a father of four who died just a few blocks from his home.

A bullet from a .22-caliber pistol allegedly fired by the second juvenile, who is also 17, struck and killed the victim.

The third defendant, 21-year-old Rudolfo Leo Marinez, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 18 years to life in state prison.

In finding Villareal unsuitable to be tried as a juvenile, the judge noted that the defendant has himself twice suffered gunshot wounds and should have known the deadly consequences of firing a weapon toward people. Villareal will be arraigned in Municipal Court today.

Police believe the shots were intended for rival gang members but instead hit Gutierrez, who police said was an innocent bystander.