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Boy, 15, sues over gun-store shooting
By Claire Booth
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
A teenager shot while passing by an El Cerrito gun shop during a robbery has sued the store owner he says put him in the hospital.
The 15-year-old Richmond resident was walking home from school along Carlson Boulevard on March 26 when he was shot in the arm.
The shots came from the Old West Gun Room, a business on the south side of the street. The owner and a customer opened fire at several men brandishing a shotgun.
They hit one of the alleged robbers, as well as Ryan Reynolds, who had the bad timing to be walking along the north side of the boulevard.
"We think the store owner and the customer just started shooting up the neighborhood, just like it's the Old West, and it's not," said the boy's attorney, Steven Plas.
Plas said his client had to have surgery, and it's too early to say if he will recover fully.
Gun Room owner Robert Weaver said he was not surprised by the lawsuit, but declined to comment further.
The suit, filed last month in Contra Costa Superior Court, alleges that everyone involved in the shootout had a conscious disregard for the teenager's safety. It seeks unspecified damages.
The suit also is against the store's customer and the robbers, although none of them is specifically named.
The only suspect now charged in connection with the attempted heist is 18-year-old Tomar Anthony Martin, who was wounded in the ankle. He is charged with attempted second-degree robbery, assault with a firearm and second-degree burglary.
Another suspect named by police, 18-year-old Keith Asbury, had escaped from a Santa Cruz County prison camp a month before the Old West Gun Room robbery attempt.
Deputy district attorney Gary Koeppel said charges have not been filed against Asbury and the case has been returned to police for further investigation.
Police say that the incident began about 3 p.m., when a man rang the Old West Gun Room's bell and was buzzed into the shop.
After a few minutes of small talk, Weaver became uneasy and asked the man to leave, according to police.
The suspect opened the door, but instead of leaving, let in two other men, one of whom had a shotgun.
Police say Weaver and the customer both drew handguns and fired.
Reynolds, who was walking outside, was hit. He stumbled into a nearby shoe store before collapsing.
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes/6238814.htm
By Claire Booth
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
A teenager shot while passing by an El Cerrito gun shop during a robbery has sued the store owner he says put him in the hospital.
The 15-year-old Richmond resident was walking home from school along Carlson Boulevard on March 26 when he was shot in the arm.
The shots came from the Old West Gun Room, a business on the south side of the street. The owner and a customer opened fire at several men brandishing a shotgun.
They hit one of the alleged robbers, as well as Ryan Reynolds, who had the bad timing to be walking along the north side of the boulevard.
"We think the store owner and the customer just started shooting up the neighborhood, just like it's the Old West, and it's not," said the boy's attorney, Steven Plas.
Plas said his client had to have surgery, and it's too early to say if he will recover fully.
Gun Room owner Robert Weaver said he was not surprised by the lawsuit, but declined to comment further.
The suit, filed last month in Contra Costa Superior Court, alleges that everyone involved in the shootout had a conscious disregard for the teenager's safety. It seeks unspecified damages.
The suit also is against the store's customer and the robbers, although none of them is specifically named.
The only suspect now charged in connection with the attempted heist is 18-year-old Tomar Anthony Martin, who was wounded in the ankle. He is charged with attempted second-degree robbery, assault with a firearm and second-degree burglary.
Another suspect named by police, 18-year-old Keith Asbury, had escaped from a Santa Cruz County prison camp a month before the Old West Gun Room robbery attempt.
Deputy district attorney Gary Koeppel said charges have not been filed against Asbury and the case has been returned to police for further investigation.
Police say that the incident began about 3 p.m., when a man rang the Old West Gun Room's bell and was buzzed into the shop.
After a few minutes of small talk, Weaver became uneasy and asked the man to leave, according to police.
The suspect opened the door, but instead of leaving, let in two other men, one of whom had a shotgun.
Police say Weaver and the customer both drew handguns and fired.
Reynolds, who was walking outside, was hit. He stumbled into a nearby shoe store before collapsing.
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes/6238814.htm