Family of La Puente teen donates organs, 5 saved

LA PUENTE -- A 17-year-old paraplegic boy who fatally shot himself in what family members believe was an accident last month is due to be buried later this month after his organs were donated and used to save five lives, family members said.
Anthony Robert Chacon, known to friends and family as "Bobby," accidentally shot himself inside his home May 29 while playing Russian roulette, his aunt, Sandra Herrera said.
He died the following day at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, Los Angeles County Department of Coroner Investigator Mario Sainz said. The officials cause of death was listed as suicide, though investigators confirmed the death appeared to have occurred during a Russian roulette game.
Chacon's mother, Veronica Palma, elected to donate her son's organs, Herrera said.
"Because he was a generous, kind-hearted person, my sister knew that's what he would have wanted," she said. "That's the kind of person my nephew was."
Chacon had been paralyzed from the waist down since December, when he was shot while attending a local party, family members and authorities said.
The constant medical care and assistance Chacon has required ever since took a toll on him and he became depressed in recent months, his aunt said.
Chacon's debilitation also took a toll on the family financially, Herrera said, and family members are now struggling to pay for his services.
He will be buried on June 21 at a private ceremony at the Pierce Brothers Mortuary in West Covina, Herrera said.
Anyone wishing to contribute to the burial fund can make donations payable to the Angel Pierce Brothers Mortuary, 2333 W. Merced Avenue, care of funeral director Mike for the Bobby Chacon fund.
Herrera said she remembers Chacon as a "very giving and loving young man" who loved jet skiing and wakeboarding behind a family boat during vacations prior to the December shooting.
"Bobby was part of our close-knit family," Herrera said. "We will never be the same without Bobby. We will miss him so much."