Suspect in Shooting Appears in Court : Drive-by: Man appears in non-related probation case. He is to be arraigned in 17-year-old’s death later this week.

A 19-year-old Mission Viejo man, charged in connection with the drive-by killing of 17-year-old Bylon Hanna, made a brief appearance in South Orange Municipal Court on Tuesday in a probation violation case from a previous conviction.

Christopher Michael Womack, who received three years’ probation in June for defrauding an innkeeper and a 90-day jail sentence in early September for felony auto burglary, was ordered held without bail. He will remain at the Orange County Jail pending his arraignment, which is expected later this week.

Womack is one of two teen-agers arrested on suspicion of murder for allegedly firing a gun through the window of Hanna’s Lake Forest home--killing the boy as family members looked on. Carl E. Stewart, 19, of Laguna Niguel is also being held at Orange County Jail and has not yet been arraigned.

According to Hanna’s father, Eugene, the shooting early Sunday stemmed from a fight at a party that Bylon had attended the night before with several friends and his brother.

Eugene Hanna said Bylon was dancing with a girl at the party when one youth barged into the house yelling, “Where’s Bylon!” As Bylon and his brothers were leaving, the youth threatened to come and “bust” him at his house, the elder Hanna said.

About 1:15 a.m. Sunday, someone apparently delivered on the threat.

Bylon, his brothers and a few friends were in the boy’s bedroom when Bylon heard the sound of a noisy car muffler, his father said. The 6-foot-5 youth stood up, approached the window, and recognized a red Camaro that the youth from the party had been riding in, his father said.

Without warning, three shots rang out. One struck Bylon in the torso, killing him.

On Tuesday, the Sheriff’s Department would not provide a motive for the shooting, saying only that the investigation is continuing. Lt. Richard J. Olson said authorities expect to make additional arrests.

One Mission Viejo High School student, who asked not to be identified, said she believes the killing stemmed from a fight several months ago between Bylon and one of the young men who disrupted the party.

“It’s got to go way back because they came in looking for (Bylon),” she said.

Meanwhile, Eugene Hanna and family members spent Tuesday in shock, trying to understand how things could have suddenly gone so wrong.

“What are we going to tell her when she grows up?” Hanna said, gesturing to his 23-month-old daughter, Shannika. “He loved that little girl. I know she wonders where he is now, but if we say he’s dead, she doesn’t know what that means.”

A boarded up first-floor window next to the front yard is a painful reminder of the family nightmare that began the weekend after the family had gathered from as far away as Chicago for Christmas.

“What a cowardly thing to do, hiding behind a gun,” he said of his son’s killers. “I think every one of them should be locked up and never let out again.”

Hanna, who works at the Irvine animal shelter, moved his wife and seven children to Lake Forest from Anaheim Hills two years ago because they needed a larger house.

The family adapted quickly to their new surroundings. Bylon and his brothers often spent evenings in the garage, lifting weights and entertaining friends, Hanna said.

“I don’t know,” Hanna said, slowly wiping his eyes. “The way this world is going, he’s probably better off than all of us. He’s free.”

Times staff writer Lily Dizon contributed to this report.