Man Charged With Murder Over Pumpkin

A homeowner who fatally shot a 17-year-old he suspected of stealing a plastic Halloween pumpkin was charged with murder Wednesday at a crowded and emotional court hearing.

Prosecutors are seeking the maximum charges possible against Pete Tavita Solomona, who insists that he accidentally fired one shot into a Ford Escort carrying three teenage boys who minutes earlier had taken a light-up decoration from his frontyard.

The tough charges filed at the Fullerton courthouse rekindled debate throughout Solomona’s Buena Park neighborhood, where residents are trying to understand how a devout Mormon and popular family man could now face a possible 50 years to life in prison.

Prosecutors said Solomona’s actions--especially his decision to confront the teenagers on the street with a loaded revolver--showed such negligence and disregard for the safety of others that murder charges are merited.

“Based on the evidence we had, and the fact that he used a loaded .357 magnum handgun, which is a very powerful handgun, we came to the conclusion that this should be a murder case,” said Tori Richards, spokeswoman for the Orange County district attorney’s office.

Solomona’s lawyer called the shooting a tragic accident and said his client is devastated by the death of Brandon Ketsdever, a popular senior at Kennedy High School in La Palma.

“The horror of what happened is affecting him deeply,” said attorney Mark Werksman. “It’s tragic, but it was an accident. He didn’t go out to kill anybody. He went out to get his pumpkin back.”

At the Superior Court hearing, Solomona’s wife and adult daughter wept as the 47-year-old entered the courtroom in an orange jailhouse jumpsuit. He pleaded not guilty to one count of murder and one count of assault with a deadly weapon.

On the other side of the courtroom, family and friends of Ketsdever wept quietly.

Solomona shed a tear when Judge Gregg Prickett refused to reduce his $250,000 bail and barred him from contacting the two teenagers who were with Ketsdever in the car.

One of those youths said in an interview Wednesday that he and his friends had mistaken Solomona’s home for that of an old friend when they grabbed the 3 1/2-foot-high pumpkin as a prank Monday night.

Afterward, the boys got into an altercation with another motorist, who chased them through the neighborhood about a mile from Knott’s Berry Farm, he said. They had mistaken the motorist for a friend, and had infuriated him by throwing a magazine at his car, the youth said.

The chase ended outside Solomona’s house. Brandishing a revolver and standing no more than an arm’s length from the car, Solomona began yelling at the boys, the teenager said. Then gunfire rang out, he said.

“I looked over at Brandon. His head was slumped,” the youth said. A relative of Solomona tried to wrestle the gun away, the teenager said.

“He was wrestling, trying to aim at us, and [my friend] is yelling, ‘Please, God, don’t shoot us,’ ” he said. “We didn’t mean anything. He came right up to the window and pointed the gun at my friend.”

The driver who had been pursuing them drove away after the gun was fired, according to the teenager and other witnesses.

On Wednesday morning by the site where Ketsdever was shot, the teenager placed a letter addressed to his friend expressing sorrow over the killing.

“I would have taken your place in a heartbeat,” he wrote. “I’m sorry. Everyone is trying to tell me that it was a sign or that it was done for a reason. All I have to say is that it should not have been you.”

Solomona’s family declined to comment on the shooting, but a longtime friend said she could not believe that the suspect would intentionally fire a weapon at someone.

“I definitely feel that it must have been an accident. I can’t see him aiming a gun at someone and shooting on purpose,” said Karen Brunner, who has known Solomona for 15 years through church. “He’s a big man, but he’s like a teddy bear inside.”

Brunner said Solomona was an active member of their local Mormon Church, and that she and her husband had played church-sponsored baseball and volleyball games alongside Solomona and his wife.

Solomona’s attorney said his client has no criminal record and never intended to harm anyone Monday.

“He may have been carrying [the gun] for his own protection. He may have been carrying it as a prop to scare the kids. He didn’t intend to hurt anybody. The gun went off accidentally,” Werksman said.

“To elevate the accidental discharge of a weapon to murder does seem a bit draconian, a bit heavy-handed,” he added.

The killing has devastated the neighborhood, residents said.

“It’s bad all around,” said Eric Nicholson, Solomona’s next-door neighbor. “It was an accident, but something you have to pay the price for. You’re still responsible for your actions.”

The teenager who was in the car insisted that Solomona fired his weapon on purpose. The gunman stood close, pointing the loaded revolver at Ketsdever, he said. Those who contend that the shooting was an accident--mostly friends and neighbors of Solomona--are wrong, he said.

“Of course they’re going to say it was an accident,” the youth said, “but you have to pull the trigger.”