Yet Another Trialin Teen’s Slaying

Re “Third Trial in Teen’s Killing Over Pumpkin Theft,” Dec. 15:

Unfortunately, Brandon Ketsdever displayed no respect for others’ property and was deliberately destroying and stealing Halloween decorations from private property. These acts proved to be fatal for him. Whether he was not taught respect or he decided to commit these acts on his own, his stupidity ended his life.

Peter Solomona let his temper rule his common sense. Instead of making an effort to copy Ketsdever’s license plate and calling the police, he elected to grab his .357-magnum revolver, shooting Ketsdever in the head. Whether it was intentional or accidental, the final acts are death and perhaps prison. Both families will suffer, for life will never be the same for them.

If only both parties would have used common sense. All this for a plastic pumpkin?

Rita Swift

Placentia

Re Dana Parsons’ column “Emotional Solomona Case Involves Much Retrial-and-Error Thinking,” Dec. 14:

Pete Solomona needs to take responsibility for his actions and intentions. I grew up in a gun-owning household and was taught that you pick up a gun only if you are going to use it, be that target shooting, hunting or self-defense, so I have no sympathy for his defense. I teach my children that if you do the crime you will do the time. Or worse, you could get the death penalty for a prank.

What Brandon did was a stupid teenage thing to do, but how many of us are alive today because we did not meet up with a vigilante when we were doing something stupid ?

Bill Matot

Laguna Niguel

After two mistrials, when even one would constitute “reasonable doubt,” the Orange County district attorney’s office is determined to continue its egotistical trip of incarcerating Pete Solomona by retrying the 50-year-old Buena Park homeowner a third time on a charge of second-degree murder for the accidental shooting of 17-year-old Brandon Ketsdever.

A third trial will produce the same result--a mistrial. This leaves me to believe that the district attorney’s office’s sole purpose is to bankrupt Solomona and his family if it has not done so already, or place them in such a dire position that they would gladly accept the district attorney’s terms, which would indicate persecution in its purest form instead of prosecution.

Peter J. Moore

Long Beach

Re “Jury Deadlocks in Pumpkin Theft Slaying,” Dec. 8:

When my oldest son was in high school, a classmate came to our front door in the middle of the night, woke us up with his shouting and demanded to see my son. The classmate was obviously intoxicated and wanted to settle a dispute that had occurred at school.

Were we frightened? Yes. Were we concerned for our personal safety? Yes. Were we unsure of what the kid would do next? Yes. Did I grab a handgun and try to settle it? No. Did I threaten to blow the kid’s brains out? No. Is the young classmate dead as a result of this terrifying experience? No.

The only ones armed were the police. We do have options; a plastic pumpkin was not the only thing missing on the night of the killing in Buena Park. How about common sense and a cooler head. Yet another good argument for gun control.

Margaret Manson

Orange