Slain Teen’s Friends Not Charged for Petty Theft

On the day a man accused of shooting a 17-year-old boy over a stolen plastic pumpkin posted bail and left jail, prosecutors announced they will not file petty theft and trespassing charges against two teens who accompanied the victim.

Monday evening’s shooting has divided the quiet Buena Park neighborhood where Brandon Ketsdever, a popular student at Kennedy High School in La Palma, was slain. While many residents have denounced the shooting over the decoration, some have also expressed dismay that the boys were allegedly stealing decorations.

District attorney’s spokeswoman Tori Richards declined Thursday to explain why prosecutors decided against charging the boys, other than to say that “based on all the circumstances in this case, it would not be in the interest of justice to prosecute the minor victims.” Prosecutors rarely file charges in instances when the victims of serious crimes are also suspected of committing a minor offense, she added.

Pete Tavita Solomona, who has been charged with murder in connection with Brandon’s slaying, left Orange County Jail in Santa Ana late Thursday after his family raised enough money to post the $250,000 bail needed for his temporary release.

Following interviews with Solomona, a team of mental health experts decided that he did not need to undergo a 72-hour mental health evaluation, which is reserved for serious offenders judged to be a danger to the community, said sheriff’s Lt. Eugene Lutito. Solomona is scheduled to reappear in court Nov. 19.

Meanwhile, detectives spent hours interviewing a motorist who they believe holds the key to resolving whether the homeowner who killed Brandon fired his weapon unintentionally, as he has claimed.

The motorist, who drove away immediately after the shooting, had chased the teens for several minutes after one of the boys threw a magazine at the man’s black Camaro, the two surviving boys told detectives.

The chase came to a halt outside Solomona’s home, where the boys had stolen the 3 1/2-foot plastic pumpkin, the teens said. It was then, Solomona and the surviving boys told police, that Solomona, armed with a .357 magnum, confronted the boys and fired one shot into their Ford Escort, fatally wounding Brandon Ketsdever, a senior at Kennedy High School in La Palma.

Although Solomona has told police that his gun went off accidentally, Brandon’s two friends maintain that the homeowner meant to fire his weapon. Police declined to release the motorist’s identity or information about his discussion with detectives.

Prosecutors disclosed Thursday that the shooting followed a desperate attempt by Solomona to find the boys after neighbors informed him that his Halloween decoration had been stolen. Solomona drove around the neighborhood searching for Brandon’s white Ford Escort until he returned home and discovered it stopped at an intersection outside his house, prosecutors said.

The killing has shaken residents in the middle-class neighborhood just north of Knott’s Berry Farm, where Solomona was widely respected as a doting father and grandfather and Brandon was known as a popular, fun-loving athlete.

Bishop Frank Mackay, who runs the Mormon church that Solomona attended for more than a decade, said he now finds himself offering spiritual comfort to the gunman’s family as well as to many youths in his congregation who were friends of Brandon.

A day after the shooting, the Solomona family called Mackay to let him know what happened, he said. Now, the gunman’s relatives are struggling to come to terms with the events that led to the 47-year-old being charged on Wednesday with murder.

“They’re grieving,” Mackay said. “They feel terrible about what happened. They’re trying to get through this. And they’re grieving for [Brandon’s] family.”