SATICOY : Adult Trial Urged for Youth in Killings

A probation official has recommended that a 17-year-old boy be tried as an adult for allegedly killing two Saticoy men in a drive-by shooting April 7, The Times has learned.

Ventura County Superior Court Judge Robert C. Bradley will hold a hearing Wednesday to consider a probation officer’s report and other evidence on whether Edward (Tony) Troop should be tried as an adult.

Troop is the oldest of four teen-agers being held in the slayings of Rolando Martinez, 20, and Javier Ramirez, 19, who were shot as they left a baptism party. Troop is believed to be the one who fired the shots from a .22-caliber rifle.

Under the law, people age 16 or 17 who are accused of serious crimes are presumed unfit to be tried as juveniles, but a judge must conduct a hearing before removing them from the juvenile system.

Two 16-year-olds being held in the case will have similar hearings before Bradley on May 10. A 15-year-old also charged in the slayings must be tried as a juvenile under state law.

If convicted as adults, the teen-agers could be sentenced to as much as life in prison, officials have said. As juveniles they could not be held past age 25.