COMPTON, Calif.–A 15-year-old boy who has been charged as an adult was scheduled to be arraigned today on a murder charge stemming from a shooting that killed a 14-month-old boy and wounded his father in Watts earlier this month.
Donald Ray Dokins is scheduled to appear in Compton Superior Court this morning to enter a plea to one count of murder stemming from death of Angel Cortez on June 4 and one count of attempted murder for allegedly shooting the boy’s father, Mauro, in the shoulder.
The criminal complaint includes the allegations that the June 4 crime was “committed for the benefit of, at the direction of, and in association with a criminal street gang” and that Dokins intentionally discharged a handgun.
The baby was in the arms of his father–who had no gang affiliation and was standing with a number of other people–when the shooting occurred on Hickory Street near 105th Street about 7:50 p.m., according to police.
Doctors were unable to save the boy, who underwent surgery and was declared dead at 10:20 p.m.
The next day, Mauro Cortez went before television news crews and reporters to ask for the public’s help in finding the shooter, who rode up on a bicycle and fired numerous shots before riding away.
The Los Angeles City Council and the Los Angeles Kings each offered $50,000 rewards for information leading to the assailant’s arrest and conviction. Dokins was arrested Wednesday by Los Angeles police.
If convicted, the teen faces numerous life sentences, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
