Two arrested in death
The San Benito County District Attorney’s Office plans to charge
two suspects in connection with the shooting death of a 14-year-old
Hollister girl, while the juvenile accused of accidentally firing
the gun will face a charge of involuntary manslaughter, District
Attorney Candice Hooper said Tuesday.
Hollister police Monday arrested two male juveniles, a
15-year-old suspected of shooting and killing Genevieve Destefanis
around 2:40 a.m. Saturday near Rancho Drive, and another
16-year-old accused of acting as an accessory.
Two arrested in death
The San Benito County District Attorney’s Office plans to charge two suspects in connection with the shooting death of a 14-year-old Hollister girl, while the juvenile accused of accidentally firing the gun will face a charge of involuntary manslaughter, District Attorney Candice Hooper said Tuesday.
Hollister police Monday arrested two male juveniles, a 15-year-old suspected of shooting and killing Genevieve Destefanis around 2:40 a.m. Saturday near Rancho Drive, and another 16-year-old accused of acting as an accessory.
While prosecutors will charge the suspected shooter with involuntary manslaughter, the other teenager faces a formal charge of being an accessory after the fact, Hooper said. The two suspects in the case will be charged in county juvenile court.
An involuntary manslaughter conviction carries a maximum penalty of two to four years in prison, according to the penal code. An accessory conviction would result in a maximum fine of $5,000, one year in jail or prison, or both, according to the penal code.
Police still are looking for 17-year-old Robert Rodriguez, of Hollister, to question him in the case as a person of interest.
Hooper in making the decision to charge the 15-year-old with involuntary manslaughter said her office agreed with a police report recommending the charge due to the belief the juvenile accidentally fired the fatal gunshot.
Destefanis had been with a group of juveniles that included the two residents arrested Monday and Rodriguez. Prior to the shooting outside a home near Rancho San Justo Middle School, the group fled from contact with police who had been responding to a disturbance call, and ended up at the home where the shooting occurred on East Park Street and Sherwood Avenue, Police Chief Jeff Miller said Monday. Investigators located the gun in the same area they found the two hiding suspects.
