Slain Teen a Case of Mistaken ID?

A South Los Angeles teenager killed last year after pleading for his life was slain by a gang member who mistook him for a rival, according to court testimony Friday.

Prosecution witness Kevin Glover testified that suspected gang member Fred Douglas Brown, 19, called him shortly after the shooting near 81st Street and Stanford Avenue to tell him he had just killed a member of a rival gang.

Under questioning from Deputy Dist. Atty. Carlos Chung, Glover also told the court that David Michael Porter, 19, who is standing trial with Brown, confided that he regretted shooting Byron Lee because he was only 14.

The testimony came during a preliminary hearing in Los Angeles Superior Court to determine whether the suspects will stand trial on one count of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder in connection with two shooting attacks unrelated to Byron’s death. The hearing continues next week.

Byron, a ninth-grader at Fremont High School, was gunned down Oct. 9, 2004, as he rode his bicycle near his home.

An initial shot knocked him to the ground, where he knelt before his two assailants, his hands clasped, pleading for his life. The attackers fired 19 more times.

Police have said Byron was not a gang member.

Glover, who testified that he was a member of the same gang as the suspects, confirmed in court Friday that he told Los Angeles police detectives that Brown telephoned him Oct. 9, telling him to look out his window for police helicopters investigating a shooting.

Glover said Brown then told him that he had “laid down” a rival, a reference to killing a member of another local gang. He also testified that Porter felt remorseful for shooting Byron and that Porter was not the one who initiated the attack.

“He [Porter] told you he felt bad because he didn’t realize the victim was only 14 years old?” Chung asked.

“Yes,” Glover replied.

“Did [Porter] tell you the only reason he shot was because Fred [Brown] shot first?” Chung asked.

“Yes,” Glover said.

The brutality of the killing sparked outrage in South Los Angeles, where residents of the community near Byron’s home held rallies and candlelight vigils in the weeks after his death.