Prankster’s Killer Guilty of 2nd-Degree Murder

A jury on Tuesday found a Buena Park homeowner guilty of second-degree murder for shooting a teenager who had stolen his outdoor Halloween decoration, prompting a dramatic courtroom confrontation between the families of the defendant and his victim.

In a mixed verdict, the jury found that Peter Solomona did not intend to kill popular high school senior Brandon Ketsdever but was guilty of murder because he knew his actions posed a deadly risk to the 17-year-old, whom he suspected of stealing his plastic pumpkin display.

Jurors said they were emotionally torn in trying to decide the extent of blame to assign the 49-year-old grandfather.

“You have people’s lives in your hands,” said juror Judi Wright, holding back tears, as she exited the courthouse. “You feel for that little boy. And then you have a family man. It’s hard when you’re dealing with people’s lives. . . . It’s tragic. Tragic.”

The decision created even more confusion in the case, and even the judge at one point described the verdict as “inconsistent.”

As bailiffs moved to handcuff Solomona, family members began wailing and yelling for the judge to allow him to stay free until his sentencing in February. Bailiffs had to restrain Solomona’s son, Leland, as he approached his father for one last embrace.

“I love you, Daddy. We’re in this together,” he cried.

Solomona’s sister begged the judge to reconsider. “You should let him spend the holiday with his family,” she screamed. “God. Help us.”

Outraged by the pleas, Ketsdever family members began shouting down the defendant’s family, prompting the judge to threaten to throw everyone out of the courtroom. Bailiffs had to form a line between the families as about 10 Solomona family members walked out later.

“They can visit [Solomona] any time they want,” explained Ketsdever’s mother, Jessie Ketsdever, after the hearing. “We can’t ever again talk to our son, or watch him grow up, or see what would have become of his life.”

Superior Court Judge John J. Ryan immediately denied defense attorney Mark Werksman’s request for a mistrial. Werksman said he would appeal the verdict. He said it was inconsistent for the jury to find Solomona guilty of murder, but not guilty of intentionally firing the gun.

But prosecutors said the jury’s decision would stand because a second-degree murder charge doesn’t require intent. Deputy Dist. Atty. Carolyn Carlisle-Raines said the second-degree charge applies in cases when a suspect shows a “conscious disregard” for a human life.

“I think it’s very clear-cut,” Carlisle-Raines said. “It’s an egregious act to take a loaded revolver and point it close to someone’s head.”

Solomona, who closed his eyes and began crying as the verdict was read, faces up to 15 years to life in prison when he is sentenced Feb. 23.

The verdict capped a four-day trial that centered on one overriding issue: Did Solomona fire the gun intentionally or by accident? The questions raised over accountability and firearm safety garnered the case national headlines and added fuel to the ongoing national gun control debate.

Nine eyewitnesses testified during the trial, including Solomona and the teenager grazed by the bullet that killed Ketsdever. And evidence ranged from grisly autopsy photos to the fanciful plastic Halloween display itself: Evidence item No. 12, a 2 1/2-foot-tall pumpkin with a grinning black cat poking its head out of the top.

Ketsdever and two friends were out pulling pranks on the night of Oct. 18, 1999, when they swiped the pumpkin and other displays off Solomona’s property. Minutes after speeding off in Ketsdever’s car, one of the teenagers threw a balled-up paper at another car.

That car gave chase and eventually stopped the teenagers, by coincidence, in front of Solomona’s corner house. Solomona had just pulled into his driveway after searching unsuccessfully for the teens.

Solomona, gripping the loaded .357 magnum revolver, approached the teenagers’ car and demanded his property. “Where are my pumpkins. I know you took my pumpkins,” Solomona testified he said to the boys. Solomona then pointed the gun inches away from Ketsdever’s temple and the gun fired. The teenager, who was strapped into the driver’s seat, never had a chance, said prosecutors.

Solomona claimed that he only wanted to frighten the teenagers away from “pulling pranks,” and that he didn’t think the gun was loaded. The gun “just went off,” he said, after his trigger finger bumped the car’s door frame.

Jurors said they doubted Solomona’s account of the shooting, even though they were struck by the sympathetic image of Solomona as a devoted and religious family man put forth by the defense. Their debate focused primarily on whether Solomona should be convicted of second-degree murder or the lesser charge of manslaughter.