Defendant Says He Didn’t Mean to Kill Halloween Prankster

Defending himself publicly for the first time against murder charges, Buena Park homeowner Peter Tavita Solomona said he was only trying to frighten a teenage prankster when his .357-magnum revolver discharged accidentally.

Solomona gripped a balled-up handkerchief during the tense proceeding and insisted that he never meant to fire the shot that ended the life of 17-year-old Brandon Ketsdever, a popular high school athlete he suspected had stolen a $20 pumpkin display.

He admitted being angry when he confronted Ketsdever in a car outside Solomona’s home, but said the gun fired because his trigger finger bumped the car’s door frame. “I had no intention of hurting anyone . . . the gun just went off,” said Solomona, bowing his head and exhaling loudly.

“What happened next?” asked defense attorney Mark Werksman.

“I saw blood coming out of the boy’s head,” Solomona replied.

With Ketsdever’s family members looking on from the front row--some crying, others shaking their heads--Solomona said the shooting still haunts him.

“I feel very terrible . . . sad,” he said.

At one point, Ketsdever’s mother left the courtroom in tears.

Shooting Fueled Gun Control Debate

Solomona’s testimony came on the last day of a four-day trial that centered on the mental state of the 49-year-old grandfather at the moment he fired the gun.

The shooting shocked residents in the quiet residential neighborhood, fueled the gun control debate and raised questions about what punishment Solomona should face if convicted.

Prosecutors, who are seeking a first-degree murder conviction, contend that Solomona deliberately shot Ketsdever during a heated argument. Several witnesses testified that Solomona appeared angry when he confronted Ketsdever, and one couple said Solomona had threatened, “I’ll blow your . . . brains out.”

If convicted, Solomona faces a sentence of 50 years to life in prison. If the jury decides the shooting was accidental, he could still face a second-degree murder or manslaughter conviction.

The chain of events on Oct. 19, 1999, began when Ketsdever and two friends stole the plastic pumpkin from Solomona’s frontyard and sped off in their car. Minutes later, the teenagers got into an altercation with another driver who chased them down and blocked their path, by coincidence, in front of Solomona’s house.

Solomona, who had been searching for the teenagers, emerged from his car carrying the revolver. The gun, he said, had been in the car since earlier that day when he had planned to take it to a gun store. He wanted to sell the gun, he said, because his wife thought it was dangerous. He said he believed it was unloaded.

At first, Solomona was unclear about why he took the gun with him to confront the teenagers. “I just saw the gun, and I just picked it up,” he said.

But under more questioning from Deputy Dist. Atty. Carolyn Carlisle-Raines, he conceded that he wanted to frighten them “so they would quit pulling pranks.”