Youth Gets 50 to Life for Shootings 
Courts: Judge cites teen's remorse in rejecting 425-year term for school rampage in  which two died and 13 were wounded.

By TONY PERRY 

SAN DIEGO -- After a day of emotional testimony  by victims and their families, a judge on Thursday  sentenced 16-year-old Charles "Andy" Williams to  50 years to life in prison for killing two students and  wounding 13 others in a shooting rampage last year  at Santana High School.

  Prosecutors, victims and the victims' families  begged the judge to impose a maximum sentence of  425 years to life, which would have precluded  parole for Williams.

  But Superior Court Judge Herbert Exarhos noted  that Williams has shown remorse, pleaded guilty to  spare his victims further agony and had no previous  criminal history. He also said the heavier sentence  would run counter to a portion of state law that  forbids life sentences for younger juvenile offenders.

  Williams sobbed as he spoke briefly before  Exarhos imposed his sentence.

  "For what it's worth, I want everybody to know I'm  sorry," Williams said. "I feel horrible about what  happened. If I could go back to that day, I would  never have gotten out of bed."

  Deputy Dist. Atty. Kris Anton had asked Exarhos  for the maximum term for two counts of murder and  13 counts of attempted murder. School Principal  Karen Degischer told Exarhos that Williams, who  was a 15-year-old freshman when he went on the  six-minute rampage, should be punished to the full  extent of the law.
  "We need to see that justice is done so that the  healing can continue and the future for us is  restored," Degischer said.

  Exarhos said Williams will be 65 before he is  eligible for a parole hearing. And he noted that the  youth had been mistreated by friends and suffered  from depression and despair.

  While in Juvenile Hall, Williams has excelled in his  studies, learned the Japanese art of origami, and  acted as a friend and mentor to other troubled  youths, according to the county Probation  Department. He also wrote a poem titled: "3/5/01,"  the date of the attack:

  There was a kid 
  Who had a gun
  He finally decided
  He had nothing to lose
  People all over
  Saw him on the news.
  Two people dead, 13 people hurt
  One stupid decision cut 3 lives short
  He is getting tried as an adult
  He is a 15-year-old kid
  He is sorry, he is sorry.
  He should never have done
  What he did.
  He thought nobody liked him
  He got messed with everyday ...
 

  Shooting randomly with a gun owned by his father, Williams killed Bryan  Zuckor, 14, and Randy Gordon, 17, and wounded 11 other students, a  teacher and a campus security guard. He surrendered meekly to police, saying  he had planned to kill himself rather than be arrested but lacked the nerve.

  "He stood near the bleeding, dying body of Bryan Zuckor and reloaded and  kept on shooting and shooting and shooting," Anton said.

  "I not only lost my best friend, Randy Gordon, I lost my innocence, my  security," said student Ray Serrato, who has a bullet lodged in his back. "Fifty  years is not enough."

  Peter Ruiz, a campus supervisor who was shot three times, called Williams'  apology empty words. Ruiz said he was disappointed by Exarhos' decision  because it could mean he and other victims will have to attend parole hearings  to keep Williams in prison.

  Williams, who since the attack has grown from a short, thin youth into a  6-footer on the verge of manhood, had plotted the attack with two friends on  the previous weekend. But the friends decided to back out without telling their  parents or authorities.

  Williams and his father, Jeff, an employee of the Balboa Naval Hospital, had  recently moved to Santee, a blue-collar suburb east of San Diego. Williams  had trouble adjusting to Santana High and fell in with a hard-edged group of  teenagers who frequented a local skate park.

  He began smoking marijuana, skipping school and doing poorly in his classes.  "Andy soon began to experience abuse from these so-called friends," said  defense attorney Randy Mize. "He had no clue on how to cope with it."

  Anton noted that the bullying was not done at school and that Williams could  have escaped merely by not going to the skate park. She also downplayed the  severity of the bullying, characterizing the towel-snapping, roughhousing and  name-calling as common among rowdy, cynical teenagers.

  "When you take those actions in perspective," Anton said, "who is the bully in  this case? The defendant is the bully. He took a gun to school and shot  innocent kids."

  Mize submitted letters from family friends in Twentynine Palms and Brunswick,  Md., telling of Williams as a happy youth who excelled in school and sports  and attended church regularly. Psychiatrists who interviewed him at Juvenile  Hall said he is unlikely ever to commit another crime.

  Victims and family members told of physical pain, psychological torment and an  overwhelming sense of fear left by the attack. Many are in counseling; others  have had difficulty returning to school.

  "I forgive him, but that doesn't take away the pain that is still inside," said  student Karla Leyva, who was wounded. "I forgive him, but that doesn't take  away the fear of walking down the street and hearing a loud noise."

  Williams' father and mother, long divorced, attended the hearing in the El Cajon  branch of the Superior Court. They did not speak on behalf of their son,  instead designating a family friend to speak for them.

  "Hating Andy will not make your lives happier," said Terri Burdett, whose son,  Williams' best friend, was killed in a bus accident just weeks before the  shooting. The loss of his friend sent Williams into an emotional tailspin.

  Exarhos said that even after reading the interviews that Williams gave to  psychiatrists, the FBI profilers and probation officers, he still does not  understand why Williams committed the crime.

  "In all likelihood, it is a question the defendant will be struggling with daily to  answer for himself," he said.

  Williams will be kept in a special section of the state prison at Tehachapi for  convicts under the age of 18. When he turns 18, he will be transferred to a  maximum security prison.