Sylmar : Girl, 17, Arraigned in Shooting at Mall

A 17-year-old Studio City girl accused of driving the car in a fatal drive-by shooting last month at the Fallbrook Mall in West Hills was arraigned Friday in Juvenile Court on murder and conspiracy charges.

The girl, whose name is being withheld because of her age, denied the petition, which is equivalent to a not guilty plea in adult court. She also is charged with four counts of attempted murder.

A hearing to determine if she will be tried as an adult or remain in Juvenile Court will be set on Aug. 11. She remains in the custody of her parents.

A 17-year-old Van Nuys boy also on Friday denied charges that he was an accessory after the fact for allegedly sheltering two men arrested in the shooting and for allegedly hiding the murder weapon.

The boy, whose case will remain in San Fernando Valley Juvenile Court, is scheduled to return Aug. 11 for a hearing and to set a trial date if a settlement agreement is not reached, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. Lori L. Dery. He, too, remains in the custody of his parents.

The two men charged in the June 9 shooting death of 16-year-old Ramtin Shaolian--Tommy Lee Williams and Elliott O’Neal Singletary, both 19 and from Van Nuys--face a Sept. 11 preliminary hearing in Van Nuys Municipal Court.

According to police, the two men were in a car with the 17-year-old Studio City girl behind the wheel and three other teen-age girls as passengers. The three girls are not being charged in the incident. The car approached a group of teen-agers leaving a movie theater in the Fallbrook Mall, and Singletary allegedly asked Ramtin if he belonged to a gang.

Ramtin responded, “No, does it look like we’re gangbangers?” The car drove around the parking lot and, with its lights turned off, came back toward Ramtin and his friends, police said.

Williams then allegedly shouted, “Well, you’re gangbangers now,” and opened fire on the group, authorities said. Ramtin was killed and two others were injured. Shots were fired at two other teen-agers, but they were not hit, police said.