Teen's murder trial re-set for January

PALMER -- With a slain teen-ager's father standing at the front audience railing throughout Monday's hearing, Superior Court Judge Eric Smith set Jan. 12, 2004, for the trial of a juvenile accused in the boy's shooting death.

Shane Harapat, 17, was present but did not speak during the 15-minute session. He is charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in the Feb. 5 death of Kenneth Alcantra, 16.

Harapat's attorney, Steven J. Carney, tried to persuade Smith to postpone the trial until summer. He said scheduling it sooner would cause Harapat to miss some high school classes.

Assistant District Attorney Rachel Gernat objected, saying, "The summer is just too long for the [victim's] family to wait."

The judge agreed.

"Mr. Harapat has serious charges and I can't rearrange everything just to accommodate his school schedule," Smith said.

The request by Carney prompted grumbling among Alcantra's relatives in the courtroom. The judge asked Alcantra's father, Joseph, if he wanted to say something on the record but he declined.

Alcantra and Harapat were friends at Palmer High School, where Harapat was once a member of the rifle team. The two were in Harapat's home, with the latter's parents in another room, when Harapat allegedly shot Alcantra in the shoulder with a .44-caliber revolver. Police said Harapat made the call to 911.

A grand jury indicted the youth in June, citing the incident as showing "extreme indifference to the value of human life." Harapat would face between 10 and 99 years in prison if convicted of the murder charge.