Gunshot Slaying of Boy, 14, Baffles Authorities

LEMON HEIGHTS —  The death of a 14-year-old Tustin boy who was shot in the head and dumped in a ditch here has left Orange County sheriff’s investigators baffled and without any solid clues, authorities said Wednesday.

A pedestrian spotted the youth, lying 40 feet south of Foothill Drive and east of La Cuesta Drive, early Wednesday. The killing happened about a mile away from the victim’s home, according to Lt. Dan Martini, spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

“It’s a very baffling case because here is a child that by all appearances had no gang affiliation, was of young age and doesn’t appear to be a typical runaway,” Martini said.

“There is no indication of sexual assault, robbery, nor any indication that the boy was bound,” Martini said. “There are also no signs of a struggle.”

The youth, whom authorities refuse to identify, is believed to have been dead for eight to 12 hours, according to an autopsy. Investigators said the boy was shot between 9 and 11 p.m. Tuesday, but would not disclose how many times the victim was shot or the type of weapon used.

Martini said the youth was last seen by his grandfather, the boy’s legal guardian, at 9:30 Tuesday night after the two watched a television hockey game.

The grandfather went to bed and assumed his grandson did too, but when he awoke at 1:30 a.m. he noticed the front door was open and his grandson missing. He thought his grandson had gone to a friend’s house, Martini said.

After seeing news reports of a murder victim, the grandfather called the Sheriff’s Department on Thursday and provided photos that investigators used, along with fingerprints, to identify the youth.

The area where the body was found is a “magnet” for trouble, said resident Sharon Paisley, whose husband and friends were sitting on the patio Tuesday when they heard what sounded like “firecrackers” between 9:45 and 10 p.m., around the time authorities believe the boy was shot.

“This is an incident ready to happen,” Paisley said.

Paisley said that for years, local teen-agers have frequented the dirt path choked with wildflowers to drink beer and “what have you.”

About two years ago, three teen-agers were robbed at gunpoint, but were not injured, she said. At that time, some residents talked to the Sheriff’s Department about putting up a fence to block the path but “nothing ever came of it,” she said.

Tommy Tracy, 13, who lives at the bottom of the hill and often wanders the area with friends, said the incident changed his life, at least for a while.

“I can’t stay out past 10 o’clock anymore because my mom is afraid something will happen to me,” Tracy said. “This has really scared a lot of people.”

Dawn Bolan, 36, warned her 17-year-old daughter not to go down to the dirt road anymore. Amanda Bolan, a senior at Foothill High School, would often meet some of her friends there, Dawn Bolan said.

“It’s very upsetting to think that that could have been one of my kids out there,” she said. “This is supposed to be a safe place, but I don’t feel safe anymore.”