The 17-year-old accused of shooting San Francisco 49ers rookie Ricky Pearsall in the chest is facing multiple charges, including attempted murder, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced Tuesday.
The minor, who has not been publicly identified, will face allegations of personal discharge of a firearm, and personal and intentional discharge of a firearm with regard to his attempted murder charge. He is also being charged with assault with a semi-automatic firearm and second-degree attempted robbery.
Pearsall was shot in the chest in San Francisco’s Union Square on Saturday, allegedly in an attempt to steal a Rolex watch. He was initially reported by his team to be in “serious but stable condition,” but was released from the hospital a day later.
The bullet missed all the vital organs in Pearsall’s chest, according to his mother, and Niners general manager John Lynch said Tuesday the team is confident he will be able to play this season.
The suspect is expected to be arraigned Wednesday afternoon at San Francisco’s Youth Guidance Center. The charges against him will be filed in juvenile court, with the decision to charge him as an adult hinging on a decision from both Jenkins and a judge, as she explained to reporters:
The only mechanism for that is to request a transfer hearing which requires that a judge rule on the minor’s fitness to be transferred to adult court, which essentially means the juvenile system would not be equipped to rehabilitate that minor. So going forward, my office will review the case more closely to determine whether or not we will seek that fitness hearing.
If the case remains in juvenile court, the suspect can be imprisoned only until the juvenile system’s jurisdiction runs out at age 25. An attempted murder charge alone can carry a sentence of more than 10 years as an adult.
Jenkins didn’t delve further into the specifics of the case, beyond confirming police were combing through security footage of the incident.
“At this time, because we are dealing with a minor, there is very little that I can share beyond what I have just said with respect to the charges and with respect to how things will move forward.”
Pearsall was shot just over a week before he was set to make his NFL debut with the Niners, who play the New York Jets on Monday night for Week 1. San Francisco selected Pearsall out of Florida with the 31st overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft.
The team placed Pearsall on the reserve/non-football injury list on Monday afternoon, which will keep him out for at least the first four games of the season. That means Pearsall won’t make his debut until at least their Week 5 game against the Arizona Cardinals on Oct. 6.
