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Teen in Ricky Pearsall shooting appears in juvenile court
A 17-year-old boy charged as a juvenile with attempted murder in the shooting of 49ers receiver Ricky Pearsall made his first court appearance.
SAN FRANCISCO - A 17-year-old boy charged as a juvenile with shooting and wounding 49ers receiver Ricky Pearsall during a robbery attempt made his first court appearance on Wednesday, and his attorney addressed a media scrum afterward.
"The only reason you’re here talking to me is because Mr. Pearsall’s a 49er, I mean let’s be honest about that," said Deputy Public Defender Bob Dunlap, adding his client had no idea the man he's accused of confronting was a professional football player.
"I don’t want the media presence in this case to warp the trajectory of what would normally happen in a case like this. I just don’t think there should be a different outcome," Dunlap said.
Cameras were not allowed in court at San Francisco’s Juvenile Justice Center. His parents sat in the audience, and his mother listened to the proceedings with the help of a Spanish-language interpreter.
The boy is a high school senior in Tracy. He showed no visible emotion as the judge read the charges, including attempted murder, assault with a semiautomatic firearm and attempted robbery.
Authorities say the boy confronted Pearsall near Geary and Grant streets in Union Square on Saturday and tried to rob him. During the confrontation, Pearsall was shot in the chest, and police say the teenager ended up getting shot by his own gun.
"He was shot through the left arm, similar to Mr. Pearsall’s injury, is what we call a through and through," Dunlap said.
The attorney said his client regrets the incident overall.
"He’s very sorry, genuinely, that this did happen, as is his family," he said.
Dunlap also said the case should remain in juvenile court and not be transferred to adult court.
"My client certainly should be treated as a juvenile. He is a juvenile. It’s very rare for transferring to occur," Dunlap said.
A day earlier, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins made clear prosecutors can no longer directly charge a teenager as an adult, and that her office will decide later whether to ask a judge to consider if the teen is fit to be tried as an adult.
"Going forward, my office will review the case more closely to determine whether or not we will seek that fitness hearing," Jenkins said.
KTVU legal analyst Michael Cardoza says juvenile court judges have considered scientific evidence "that show that young people’s minds, their brain, does not develop fully, and that’s the frontal lobe, until they’re 23, 24, 25."
The boy’s attorney says he’s glad his client and Pearsall have survived their injuries.
"You know, I would love nothing better for this story to end with him catching the winning touchdown pass in the Super Bowl – hopefully against the Chiefs," Dunlap said.
Henry Lee is a KTVU crime reporter. E-mail Henry at Henry.Lee@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @henrykleeKTVU and www.facebook.com/henrykleefan