SAUGUS : Youth Wounded in Back-Yard Shooting

A Saugus man Tuesday shot a teen-age friend of his daughter’s because he mistook the youth for a pre-dawn prowler in his back yard, Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies reported.

Deputies said the 17-year-old, whose name was not released, was wounded in the hip during the 4 a.m. incident in the 21100 block of Rosedell Drive. An investigation of the shooting was continuing, but deputies said it appeared to have been accidental.

The teen-ager had gone to the residence of Ramon Jones, 52, about 3:45 a.m. and was in the back yard making noises in an attempt to wake Jones’ daughter, deputies said. Jones, hearing the noises, armed himself and went to investigate.

Deputies said Jones spotted the youth--who he did not know--in the back yard, and, believing that the boy was a prowler, attempted to detain him until deputies arrived. Jones’ handgun, however, accidentally fired during the confrontation, wounding the youth, deputies said.

The teen-ager was in good condition at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital in Valencia.