April 18--OAKLAND -- A 16-year-old Oakland teen was charged Thursday as an adult in the fatal shooting of an off-duty San Jose paramedic in the Oakland hills earlier this month, and five other boys are facing multiple felonies in connection with the killing.
Christian Burton is one of six boys, ages 13 to 16, suspected of trying to carjack paramedic Quinn Boyer as he stopped near the intersection of Keller Avenue and Hansom Drive the morning of April 2.
Five were arrested Tuesday and charged in juvenile court in connection with the killing. Authorities announced Thursday that a 13-year-old boy was also in the car at the time of the shooting and faces felony charges as well.
"This senseless murder has shocked the community of Oakland as well as all of us who work in the criminal justice system," said Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley in a statement. "(Boyer), a paramedic, dedicated his life to helping others. His brazen daytime killing at the hands of a 16-year-old armed with a gun is a tragedy on many levels."
Burton is the only boy whose identity was released, since he is being tried as an adult. The others' names have not been released because of their ages.
Burton admitted to police that he killed Boyer, according to court records. He was linked to the killing through physical evidence and witness statements, according to a probable cause arrest warrant.
It was shortly before noon on April 2 when Boyer, of Dublin,
took his father back to his Oakland hills home from a doctor's appointment. He was alone in his car when, police said, the boys pulled their car alongside his Honda Civic and Burton shot him point-blank in the head. He was in the hospital for two days but never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead on April 4.
Boyer had worked as a paramedic for Santa Clara County since 2008, with a stellar reputation on the job. In the days after he was shot, a memorial adorned the front lawn of Rural/Metro Ambulance to honor him.
Boyer grew up in Oakland and graduated from Sonoma State University, the Santa Rosa Fire Academy and Foothill College's paramedic program. He had recently been accepted into the physician's assistant program at Stanford. He was also a Big Brother and a volunteer at the Order of Malta clinic in Oakland, his family said.
His family has declined to speak publicly about the killing, and was not available to comment on the charges.
O'Malley, the Alameda County DA, released a statement saying her office "will ensure that justice is served."
While O'Malley announced the charges filed against Burton, her office declined to specify the exact charges filed against the five other teens, saying only they are "multiple felonies."
Although Burton is charged with a special circumstances murder, he is not eligible for the death penalty because he is a teenager. It also remains unclear if he can be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole if convicted. Burton appeared in an Oakland courtroom briefly on Thursday for an arraignment and is scheduled to be back in court Friday morning to enter a plea and to be assigned an attorney.
Reach Paul T. Rosynsky at prosynsky@bayareanewsgroup.com. Reach Kristin J. Bender at kbender@bayareanewsgroup.com. Follow her at Twitter.com/kjbender.
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©2013 The Oakland Tribune (Oakland, Calif.)
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