Youth Arraigned in Friend’s Death
A Lancaster teen-ager Wednesday denied murdering his close friend in an apparently accidental shooting Saturday night, authorities said.
The 17-year-old boy, whose name was withheld because of his age, was arraigned in Sylmar juvenile court, where he denied the charge of murder, with the special allegation that he used a firearm.
A probable cause hearing was scheduled for Nov. 30, said Richard Taklender, a Los Angeles County deputy district attorney.
The youth, who remained in custody at the Sylmar juvenile detention hall, was charged in the death of Frederick Gajete, 17, of Lancaster. Gajete died early Sunday after being struck in the head by a bullet fired from a rifle the suspect was believed to have been playing with at his parents’ house.
Relatives and friends said that the two youths were close friends and that the shooting was an accident.
Taklender, the filing deputy at the juvenile court, said the murder charge was justified because of the recklessness of the youth’s conduct.
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