2 Plead Not Guilty in Death of Teenager

Two Oxnard teenagers pleaded not guilty Tuesday to first-degree murder charges brought in connection with the February 1995 shooting death of a 14-year-old boy, a prosecutor said.

Michael Thomas, 17, and Jason Thompson, 18, both face 25 years to life in prison if convicted of killing Gabriel Alcazar, who died after being shot during an alleged confrontation with the two suspects in an Oxnard alley, Deputy Dist. Atty. Gregory Phillips said.

A three-week jury trial is scheduled to begin Sept. 16.

Prosecutors contend that Thomas and Thompson approached Alcazar near K Street and Hull Place, about a block from Alcazar’s home. The shooting that followed was blamed on tension between Latino and African American gangs.

The district attorney’s office spent more than a year piecing together the investigation, in part because prosecutors have not determined which suspect pulled the trigger.

“Thomas and Thompson were driving in a car in Oxnard, and there was an exchange of gang affiliation by the victim as well as the two individuals,” Phillips said. “One of them was the driver and one of them was the shooter.”

Both suspects were younger than 18 when the crime was committed, but they will be tried as adults.