Teenager Charged as Adult Under Controversial Law

A 16-year-old boy Tuesday became the first defendant in Orange County to be charged under a controversial state law that allows district attorneys to bypass Juvenile Court and immediately prosecute minors as adults.

Carlos Sanchez is accused of fatally wounding a 67-year-old Santa Ana woman during a drive-by shooting over the weekend. Authorities say Sanchez and two fellow gang members were targeting a rival gang when they fired several shots at people gathered for a barbecue outside the house. One of the bullets pierced the front door security fence and struck Adelia Cortes Rios in the head.

Prosecutors charged Sanchez as an adult under Proposition 21, which voters overwhelmingly approved in March. The measure removed a requirement from state law that juveniles undergo a “fitness” hearing in Juvenile Court before a judge determines whether the case should be transferred to adult court.

Orange County is one of the first in the state to prosecute under the law, which has been criticized by civil libertarians as draconian and a strain on the overwhelmed prison system. But many prosecutors, including Orange County Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas, have welcomed the measure as another crime-fighting tool.