Police Say San Pablo Teen Slaying Was 'Excusable Homicide'

A 16-year-old Richmond boy who was fatally shot Tuesday while allegedly attempting to rob a store in San Pablo was described as a "nice kid" by friends and teachers.

[lena1]

This 16 year old "kid" had a sawed-off shot gun on him when he jumped over the counter threatening to kill a law-abiding owner whose business is probably his livelihood. Why on earth do columnists always try to stir up problem this way? So they can be assured of an upcoming gory story of how the owner was gunned down in retaliation??? It so was nice how his teacher was so forthcoming in his praise about this kid but if you live in the Bay Area, you know you don't end up in a continuation school without being kicked out of your other school(s) first - remember Gompers?? You guys are jackals. I used to go to that store 40 years ago along with all the other kids in San Pablo and it was a very important part of our lives back then with nothing but fawn memories for all of us and now it will probably close because of all the "nice kids" around who try and rob it and possibly even end kill it's owners. Tell the truth, this kid was a thug!!!

[Jenn Smith]

Maybe his 'friend' that was not in school because he was the other robber?

[geo]

Look at the bright side another punk off the streets. Hoorahh

[Jack Shite]

Yeah another punk who sooner or later would most likely use that sawed off shotgun on someone he was trying to rob or just looked at him the wrong way. Another punk who would be probably bleeding the welfare system all his life for himself, his family and all the bastards he was creating by f***ing and leaving all "da hoes and da bitches in da hood". Yeah it was a good thing he was exterminated while he was just a young punk. Anybody think this punk would EVER become a law abiding citizen? If so I've got a freaking bridge to sell you!

[bbrd]

Another criminal off the street!!!

[LLN]

Great Job to the owner I plan to support his business just because of his actions. To bad he didn't get the 2nd guy because it's just a matter of time before he commits another crime.

[darius]

geo wrote:

Look at the bright side another punk off the streets. Hoorahh

HEy i knew this kid and he was my friend and it really hurts me that you would say that about him its bad enough that his mother has to live the rest of her life without her son and has to deal with the shame of he was robbing a store but i knew him and he was not always like that he change a lot when he started goin to richmond high i live right down the street from him and i have to walk by his house every day wathching his family member walkin in and out crying so please dont say things like that

[Brian]

Jack Shite wrote:

Yeah another punk who sooner or later would most likely use that sawed off shotgun on someone he was trying to rob or just looked at him the wrong way. Another punk who would be probably bleeding the welfare system all his life for himself, his family and all the bastards he was creating by f***ing and leaving all "da hoes and da bitches in da hood". Yeah it was a good thing he was exterminated while he was just a young punk. Anybody think this punk would EVER become a law abiding citizen? If so I've got a freaking bridge to sell you!

actually he was very smart why are you all talking about him this way yes i understand that the man had to defend his store but a mother lost her child his family is missing a member if you knew him you would no that he wasnt always like that and it making sad and angry that your saying that... hes gon out of our lives forever and no body in his family was on welfare they live in a very nice house in san pablo why he did what he did i dont know i wish i could ask but thats not goin to happen now is it what if his mother saw this

[Bubba]

Brian wrote:

<quoted text>actually he was very smart why are you all talking about him this way yes i understand that the man had to defend his store but a mother lost her child his family is missing a member if you knew him you would no that he wasnt always like that and it making sad and angry that your saying that... hes gon out of our lives forever and no body in his family was on welfare they live in a very nice house in san pablo why he did what he did i dont know i wish i could ask but thats not goin to happen now is it what if his mother saw this

Brian I hate to say it but you sound as ignorant as this thug was! When you go into a store, jump over a counter and threaten people with a shotgun, ready and willing to pull the trigger if they resist and at only 15 years of age are obviously beginning a life of crime....you are just NOT a good person by the wildest stretch of the imagination! This violent young punk got exactly what he deserved and anyone with any intelligence or integrity of sense of justice knows it!

[Bubba]

darius wrote:

<quoted text>
HEy i knew this kid and he was my friend and it really hurts me that you would say that about him its bad enough that his mother has to live the rest of her life without her son and has to deal with the shame of he was robbing a store but i knew him and he was not always like that he change a lot when he started goin to richmond high i live right down the street from him and i have to walk by his house every day wathching his family member walkin in and out crying so please dont say things like that

Go somewhere else with that bleeding heart bullshit! People are totally fed up with these vicious, violent punks destroying good neighborhoods, making it not even safe to go to a restaurant at night in fear of it being stormed by gun toting young thugs like this. Do you have any doubt this punk would have pulled the trigger on that sawed off shotgun if he had the chance? Do you think he would have stopped with this one robbery? I don't! Yeah I know that cultural rot called hip hop glorifies these walking piles of shit and all their criminal behavior but a lot of us are really disgusted with the whole goddamn scene. I'll save my sympathy for the innocent store owner who was just defending his store, had already been beat up and had a gun fired close to his face and now has to worry about retribution from other worthless punks. You should choose your friends more carefully dude!

[Kari]

Let him rest in peace, who are you all to judge his actions or him.What if your familly member did what he did, would you still label him like you are right now??? I think not,have you ever been to richmond ca?? it looks like you live in Dublin, sf and san jose?? so yeah you have no idea what kids now a days go thru either in richmond or your own little perfect world you claim to live in labeling him like he's garbage.You must think your s dont stink and smells like roses.Pray for him, and i will pray for you ignorant people with the nasty comments that God opens up your heart because you must be unappy to talk all that smack .

[Leland]

Kari wrote:

Let him rest in peace, who are you all to judge his actions or him.What if your familly member did what he did, would you still label him like you are right now??? I think not,have you ever been to richmond ca?? it looks like you live in Dublin, sf and san jose?? so yeah you have no idea what kids now a days go thru either in richmond or your own little perfect world you claim to live in labeling him like he's garbage.You must think your s dont stink and smells like roses.Pray for him, and i will pray for you ignorant people with the nasty comments that God opens up your heart because you must be unappy to talk all that smack .

Oh screw you Kari! You think there is nothing wrong with invading a business, jumping over a counter and threatening to kill someone with a sawed off shotgun? In your warped sense of morality I guess violent criminal action like that is okay eh? You've either been listening to that hip hop garbage way too long or you just haven't developed the capacity to critically think! You calling other people "ignorant" is frankly ludicrous beyond belief and doesn't deserve a response! Go ahead and defend these gun toting punks if you want but most of us are NOT going to buy your bullshit or your attempt to get pity for someone who never should have been born!

[Bubba]

The barbaric behavior of certain (NOT ALL!) people from "da hood" in Richmond (and Oakland) continues to be totally unexcusable! In last week's East Bay Review there was an item about a bunch of young "turds with legs" attacking a pregnant woman at the Richmond BART station, punching her in the stomach (!) and sending her to the hospital...all just to steal her purse! I suppose Kari and all of the other shotgun wielding punk defenders would be defending this worthless street trash too! Yeah we don't know what kids go through living in Richmond, do we? It's all about respect isn't it? Yeah right! I would call these scumbags animals except that would be an insult to our four legged friends! Only one word is appropriate for them and that is a four letter word beginning with S and ending with T! We all know what we do with that commodity!

[VICTIM]

the kid got what he deserved . did u read the other article about when he shoot a guy trying to protect his family back in march. try to carjack him but the guy had is family in the car and would let him take it so they shoot him in the leg with a sawedoff shooty. shot at cop who were chasing him. karmaz a bitch isnt it shoot some ing the leg now u died. screw him and is family the should have payed more attention to him.

[Francis]

The boy lost his life to a fruitless endeavor, and for what? At the most 180 dollars, some Doritos, and whatever else he would have grabbed out while heading out the door. Thug beginnings lead to thug endings, we really need to start teaching our children that these little games they're playing aren't worth a damn in the long run.

[Jersey Joe Vatalaro]

Francis wrote:

The boy lost his life to a fruitless endeavor, and for what? At the most 180 dollars, some Doritos, and whatever else he would have grabbed out while heading out the door. Thug beginnings lead to thug endings, we really need to start teaching our children that these little games they're playing aren't worth a damn in the long run.

That would be nice but the hip hop culture is preaching a different message...criminal behavior (including murder) is okay, it's okay to drop out of school and join gangs, women are nothing but "hoes" and "bitches" to be raped if they won't give you what you want, etc. etc. etc. Great message for impressionable youth eh? As far as being taught values in the home that can be difficult even when those single moms do the best they can. "My baby's daddy" has long left the scene, probably about the time he pulled his penis out of mama's vagina!

[fed-up]

well damn if only this was your brother or cousin or uncle i mean i've known him since freshmen year and how society is to today how else is young BLACK teen boy supposed to get money i mean were are all the jobs in RICHMOND was he right NO but who are you guys to judge him none of you are MY GOD so why are yall passing judgement. You must be the type of people with office jobs huh well step outside you bounderies and go to thee hoods of richmond and see how we have to live i wasnt born into a wealthy family and i didnt ask to be born so i have to make due with what i have so what makes you better than me what makes you better than him NOTHING while everyone is so quick to send money overseas to feed their children when i have went a many of nights with out fo0d. Take care of home first. How dare you say he got what he deserve he has a mother just like you do. She mourns just like yours would had this been you. So imagine her reading this and picture your mother as thee her. i send my prayers and blessings out to my friends family and your truely going to be missed. I LOVE YOU{{for the record my G.P.A is 3.9}} and yess im a BLACK GIRL from the streets of richmond born and raised

[Jack Shite]

fed-up wrote:

well damn if only this was your brother or cousin or uncle i mean i've known him since freshmen year and how society is to today how else is young BLACK teen boy supposed to get money i mean were are all the jobs in RICHMOND was he right NO but who are you guys to judge him none of you are MY GOD so why are yall passing judgement. You must be the type of people with office jobs huh well step outside you bounderies and go to thee hoods of richmond and see how we have to live i wasnt born into a wealthy family and i didnt ask to be born so i have to make due with what i have so what makes you better than me what makes you better than him NOTHING while everyone is so quick to send money overseas to feed their children when i have went a many of nights with out fo0d. Take care of home first. How dare you say he got what he deserve he has a mother just like you do. She mourns just like yours would had this been you. So imagine her reading this and picture your mother as thee her. i send my prayers and blessings out to my friends family and your truely going to be missed. I LOVE YOU{{for the record my G.P.A is 3.9}} and yess im a BLACK GIRL from the streets of richmond born and raised

How else is a young BLACK (or any race?) teen boy supposed to get money? I might suggest by staying in school (to prepare you for a much better future!), behaving with integrity civility and be willing to take some less than glamorous jobs like working at McDonald's or Target or a car wash. I see lots of other teens doing that. You apparently think it's okay to commit armed robbery, maybe even be ready to kill somebody if they resist, as an alternative to that, an indication that you have been listening to too much of that hip hop trash or just haven't developed the capacity to think clearly and critically. It's funny that you don't see too many BLACK girls engaging in these barbaric acts. It would seem that they are just as deprived as the boys.

We have been taking care of home with billions of dollars in subsidized housing, food stamps, affirmative action programs among other things and frankly haven't got much to show for it, especially in certain communities like Richmond. There is something called "individual responsibility" which means not having children you can't afford, the males not abandoning those children as soon as they are born, taking advantage of the educational system, staying away from drugs and a life of crime....just being a responsible member of the community...but I guess you wouldn't understand that either. In your mind being a gun toting thug like your hip hop idols is just fine and we should feel sorry for you if some innocent citizen is protecting his life and his property during an armed robbery.

Your may find some sympathy in "da hood" but you aren't going to find it anywhere else! When you can't even go out to eat in a restaurant without the fear of worthless punks invading the place with assault rifles it's time to say the people have had enough. Do so at your own risk you little bastards! Nobody is going to weep for you except possibly your mamas if you are carried out in body bags. The choice is yours!

[tahoecruiser1]

It is sad that a teenage boy lost his life. Now his family as well as the business owner must live with the consequences of a STUPID decision. Best you could you ask for in this case is that others who have also thought about making a BAD decision, might give a little more thought to it.

[the liason]

obviously ignorance is still alive..this bubba guy is ridiculous..
i didnt kno ol boy, but he was one of my brothers close friends..
he was a young man with a child on the way and no source of income..
now im not justifying his actions, but until youve been in the position where you HAVE to rob, kill, or sell drugs to put food in your families stomachs or clothes on their backs you cannot judge..everyone isnt priveledged.point blank.
youd be surprised at what you would do if put into a given situation.