Teen facing charges in girl’s West Sacramento killing was wearing GPS monitor, judge says
One of the teens accused of gunning down a 16-year-old girl on a West Sacramento bike path was wearing a court-ordered monitoring device at the time of the shooting, a Yolo Superior Court judge said at the boy’s arraignment Wednesday in Woodland.
The boy, identified only by his first name at the juvenile hearing before Judge Tom M. Dyer, had three prior cases in the Yolo courts before the shooting that left 16-year-old Samantha Farris of Citrus Heights dead Saturday after what authorities say was a marijuana deal gone wrong.
Those offenses are not known, but as Farris’ family looked on, Dyer ordered the teen to remain in Yolo juvenile hall ahead of a Monday custody hearing and an upcoming transfer hearing to determine whether he will be tried as a minor or adult in Farris’ killing, which took place at night yards away from the River City High School campus.
“Detention is necessary for public safety,” Dyer said, adding that the accused teen “was on a GPS at the time.”
Dyer later granted permission for the youth’s adult sisters, a counselor and his school’s principal to visit him while in custody after defense counsel Andrea Pelochino said the school official was a “very positive male role model” for the teen.
Farris’ family and relatives of the young suspect shared space in Dyer’s courtroom. Neither group spoke with reporters.
It was the second hearing of the morning for Farris’ family. Earlier Wednesday, the first of the suspects appeared briefly before Yolo Superior Court Judge Janene Beronio to set a Thursday arraignment and assign his defense counsel. Yolo prosecutors also filed a transfer motion to determine whether he, too, will be tried as a juvenile or adult before the teen was returned to juvenile hall.
Transfer hearings are the product of Proposition 57, the 2016 ballot measure giving local judges discretion over which cases should be tried in adult court. Prior to Prop 57, prosecutors decided whether minors were to be tried as adults in serious cases such as homicides.
Beronio at one point scanned the gallery and asked audience members to identify themselves – customary at juvenile proceedings. One man stood, leaning on crutches for support.
“Jay Farris,” he told Beronio. “The father of Samantha Farris. The girl who was murdered.”
Prosecutors had yet to file formal charges against a girl also arrested in connection with the shooting.
Previously, the Yolo County Sheriff’s Office identified one of the male suspects as a resident of Elk Grove while the other boy and girl lived in West Sacramento. Deputies said the boys were facing possible charges of of homicide, robbery and conspiracy while the girl was being held as an accessory to the slaying. All of the suspects are 16, deputies said.
The Yolo County District Attorney’s Office would not immediately release any information about the teens or the charges that were to be filed.
This story was originally published January 8, 2020 at 12:29 PM.
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