SANTA PAULA : Lawyer Says Youth Was Pressured

A 17-year-old Santa Paula boy accused of killing a bystander while randomly firing shots at buildings in Cabrillo Village was pressured into participating in the incident, a defense attorney said Tuesday.

Defense attorney George C. Eskin’s statement came during a hearing to determine whether the youth will be tried as an adult for the Oct. 1 death of Jose Guadalupe Gutierrez, 37.

The youth is one of three defendants. Eskin, quoting a county probation report, said a 17-year-old defendant from Ventura told officials that he had put pressure on the Santa Paula youth to fire a gun that day.

A judge continued the proceeding until June 19 to give the defense more time to present witnesses. The Santa Paula youth broke down and cried in court Tuesday as his mother told how she tried to keep him in community activities and out of trouble.

The mother described her son as a well-mannered boy who had typical teen-age problems.

Prosecutors say Gutierrez was killed while standing near a building in Cabrillo Village. He had just finished leading an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting when gunfire erupted and a stray bullet struck him in the heart, they say.

The fatal shot was fired by the Santa Paula youth, Deputy Dist. Atty. Roger Inman said. Inman said the Santa Paula teen-ager and the two other defendants were randomly shooting at buildings in the area.

In April, 21-year-old Rudolfo Leo Martinez of Saticoy was sentenced to a prison term of 18 years to life after pleading guilty to second-degree murder.

The other 17-year-old defendant in the case, Jose Villareal of Ventura, has been ordered to be tried as an adult.