Driver, 17, Guilty of 2nd-Degree Murder in Boy’s Death

A teen-ager committed second-degree murder when he ran down and killed a 9-year-old boy in a Mission Hills intersection while chasing rival gang members in his car, a Juvenile Court commissioner ruled Wednesday.

After a three-day trial in Sylmar Juvenile Court, Commissioner Jack Gold also found true an allegation of felony hit-and-run driving in the April 18 death of Jaskaran Singh.

Gold said the 17-year-old Pacoima boy showed “callous disregard for human life.” The defendant, whose name was not released because he is a juvenile, is scheduled to be sentenced June 26.

The juvenile court system uses different terminology than the adult system. When a juvenile court commissioner finds allegations of wrongdoing to be true, it is the same as a conviction in adult court.

Although the teen-ager could technically be sentenced to life in prison, under state law he can only be held in the California Youth Authority until he turns 25 because he is a juvenile.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert Cohen, head of the Sylmar office, said prosecutors sought the murder charge because the defendant intentionally disregarded the safety of others when he attempted to chase after two gang members who had taunted him.

The incident started when the two rivals confronted the teen-ager and his cousin while they sat on the front porch of their family’s El Dorado Avenue home in Pacoima. After an exchange of words, the rivals jumped into a car and sped away, with the teen-ager and his cousin in pursuit, Cohen said.

Cohen said the chase reached speeds of 70 m.p.h. The defendant repeatedly honked his horn and slowed at busy intersections, but ignored his cousin’s plea to slow down, the prosecutor said.

At Devonshire and Woodman avenues, both drivers sped through a red light. Singh, who was trying to cross the street, stepped into the street after the first car went by and was struck by the second, Cohen said.

The driver who struck the boy did not stop but returned to the scene about an hour later after he had gone home and told his mother what happened, Cohen said.