Two 16-year-old alleged gang members accused of gunning down a 16-year-old honor student at her high school's homecoming game will have to spend the holidays behind bars as they await their preliminary hearing.
Attorneys for the two teens, Tom Love Vinson and Daivion Davis, just received some 350 pages of discovery from the prosecution and will require more time than originally alloted for the prelimineary hearing, said Long Beach Superior Court Judge Judith Meyer.
Meyer also noted that the court will be especially bogged down next month due to the holidays and the number of other judges who will be on vacation and said the extensive delay, while frustrating for many, is necessary to ensure the case is given proper attention.
Vinson and Davis are charged with opening fire on a crowd of hundreds of people at the Wilson HIgh School homecoming game against Poly High last month, striking and killing 16-year-old honor student Melody Ross and wounding two other people.
Both defendants have denied the special circumstance charge that includes one count of murder, two counts of attempted murder and an allegation that the shooting was carried out to benefit their gang.
Both teens are being tried as adults and face the possibility of life in prison without parole if convicted on all counts.
Witnesses told police Vinson fired into a crowd of roughly 400 to 500 people as they streamed out of the gates of the Wilson campus on Ximeno Avenue, between Seventh and Tenth streets.
Ross was struck in the side with a single gunshot wound and was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Two Long Beach men -- one 18 and the other 20 -- were also shot but survived.
They are believed to be the gang rivals of Vinson and Davis and the intended targets that night, police said.
Ross, an innocent bystander, was caught in the crossfire.
Her senseless death has turned into a rally cry for many in the community to put an end to gang violence. Public memorials have drawn hundreds to thousands of people and a fund set up in her name has received donations from concerned citizens in Long Beach and beyond.
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