WOODLAND — Two teens accused of fatally shooting a 16-year-old girl in West Sacramento last weekend made their first court appearances Wednesday, where they faced new allegations involving a second victim, according to documents on file in Yolo Superior Court.
In addition to the murder and second-degree robbery of Samantha J. Farris during what police say was a botched marijuana deal, the two male suspects — also 16 — are charged with the attempted murder of another person, identified in charging petitions by the initials “S.K.”
The petition for one of the teens, an Elk Grove resident, includes charging enhancements for intentional and personal discharge of a firearm, indicating he was the alleged shooter during the Saturday night incident. The other boy, who lives in West Sacramento, also faces enhancements for use of a firearm.
Because they are minors, their names have not been publicly released.
The Yolo County District Attorney’s Office is seeking to try both teens as adults, a process in which a judge determines the case’s proper jurisdiction following a transfer hearing that explores the gravity of the alleged crime as well as the teens’ criminal sophistication, prior delinquent acts and potential for rehabilitation.
Prosecutors have not filed charges against a 16-year-old Sacramento girl who also was taken into custody on suspicion of being an accessory to a felony, although police say her alleged role remains under investigation.
No new details emerged in court regarding the homicide, which occurred shortly after 7:30 p.m. Saturday along the Clarksburg Branch Line Trail, a recreational path near River City High School. Farris, of Citrus Heights, died at the scene.
About a dozen of her relatives attended Wednesday’s arraignment hearings, filling two rows of courtroom benches as the Elk Grove teen’s proceeding was delayed until Thursday so that his court-appointed attorney could be present. Judge Janene Beronio ordered his continued hold at Yolo County Juvenile Hall.
When Beronio asked the spectators to identify themselves, one man stood and introduced himself as Jay Farris, “the father of Samantha Farris, the one who was murdered.”
From there, the family moved to a neighboring courtroom to witness the arraignment of the West Sacramento teen, whose public defender Andrea Pelochino issued denials to the charges — the equivalent of a not-guilty plea — and requested a hearing to determine whether her client should remain in Juvenile Hall custody while his case is pending.
Judge Tom Dyer set a detention hearing for Monday afternoon, ordering the teen to remain in custody for the time being.
“Detention is necessary for not only public safety but also for the minor’s welfare,” Dyer said, adding that the defendant had been equipped with a GPS monitoring device for a prior offense at the time of the alleged homicide.
Deputy District Attorney Jennifer McHugh noted in court that the teen was still awaiting sentencing in that case, one of three matters he had before the juvenile court in 2019. The nature of those cases was not disclosed.
Farris’ family declined to comment to a reporter as they left the courthouse. The parents of both suspects attended their sons’ hearings and also did not comment.
Samantha’s grandfather, Mark Bentley, told the media earlier this week that his granddaughter and a friend of hers confronted the boys when their money came up short during the marijuana transaction, but ran away when one of them pulled out a gun. Samantha was shot in the back as she fled, Bentley said.
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8048. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene.
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Girl, 16, slain in West Sacramento; three teen suspects arrested