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Los Angeles Daily News Three plead not guilty in shooting of Taft teens By Beth Barrett Staff Writer Thursday, August 05, 2004 - The three defendants in last September's shooting of three Taft High School students pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges of attempted murder and mayhem, and denied special allegations they used a gun to benefit a criminal street gang. Jeffery Trinell Young of Panorama City, Terry Boyd Taylor of Van Nuys and Kristopher James Govea of Granada Hills entered the pleas stemming from the Sept. 9 shooting at a crowded bus stop on Ventura Boulevard near Winnetka Avenue. Paul Herzlich, then 15, was left paralyzed, and Lizbeth Santana, then 17, and Agustin Galindo, then 16, were also seriously wounded. The defendants, all 21, face life sentences if convicted. "They're responsible for committing a crime that really shocks the conscience," said Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman at Van Nuys Superior Court. "They shot into a crowd of innocent students in the middle of the day. It's horrible. It's a case we'll take very seriously." Allan Herzlich, Paul's father, said he's glad the legal proceedings are moving ahead. "It comes and it goes," Allan Herzlich said, choking up as he described his son's daily struggle to regain mobility by using a walker as he prepares to start another year as a sophomore. Attorneys for Taylor and Govea denied their clients fired into the crowd. Young's private attorney stepped down Thursday, and a public defender was to take the case. Young's relatives declined comment. Taylor's attorney, Robert Dennis Rentzer of Encino, said his client -- a College of the Canyons student who had once received a Los Angeles Police Department commendation for painting a mural -- acknowledges being in the car and associating with gang members. He said Young handed Taylor a gun prior to the shooting, but that his client pushed it under the car seat. "He claims he was taken by surprise when it happened," Rentzer said. Dee Taylor, the defendant's mother, said the shooting was "devastating," and "very tragic." Public Defender Thomas P. McLarnon said Govea -- who had attended Granada Hills High School before graduating from Taft and enrolling at Pierce College -- was driving his mother's red Mitsubishi at the time of the shooting. Govea never had a gun, McLarnon said, and even if guns were present, he did not expect them to be used. "It was unknown to him that any of this would take place," he said. "Just because people carry guns doesn't mean they're going to use them." But Silverman said the defendants were in a car with two loaded guns, and driving around looking for enemies. She noted that when they got to the bus stop, "Where you from?" -- a standard gang challenge -- was shouted from the car. "'Where you from?' is a precursor to violence," Silverman said. "Violence always ensues." Police have said the defendants are with the Ligget Street, a Bloods gang, from Panorama City. The lawyers for Govea and Taylor said that while they associated with gang members, they weren't active in the gang. Beth Barrett, (818) 713-3731 News Topics | Home | Research | History | Blood Gangs | Crip Gangs | People| Life in a Gang | Gallery | Iraqi Cards | Memorial | Migration | Graffiti | Resume| Injunctions Homicides | Maps | California Prisons | Contact

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