William Innes shot and killed Annette Pershal with a pellet gun, prosecutors said. (Screenshots of Innes and the makeshift memorial for Pershal: KNSD)
A teenager who fatally shot a homeless woman, rupturing her aorta, wrote 20 minutes before the shooting that “I’m going hobo hunting with a pellet gun,” prosecutors allege.
According to San Diego NBC affiliate KNSD, William Innes, 19, pleaded not guilty on Monday to murdering Annette Pershal, 68. Prosecutors claim co-defendant Ryan Hopkins, 18, on May 7 drove Innes to the 3300 block of Sandrock Road, where he opened fire four or five times from the vehicle with a pellet gun.
These shots truck Pershal in the head, leg, and torso, Deputy District Attorney Roza Egiazaria said.
But instead of helping or calling 911 for the 80-pound Pershal, Innes and Hopkins left the scene, the prosecutor said, according to the San Diego Tribune.
That left local cops to find her unconscious the following morning at approximately 6:15 a.m.
They tried to wake her up, police said in a news release. No response.
“At the hospital, emergency room doctors noticed that it appeared the woman had been shot multiple times with a pellet gun,” cops wrote. “Doctors also determined that the woman’s injuries were non-survivable.”
She passed away at the hospital on May 11.
Those who knew Pershal described her lovingly.
“She was an icon here,” Tony, a local barber, told KNSD. “She was here for so many years. Everybody knew her.”
She was reportedly nicknamed “Grandma Annie” and “Granny Annie.” Pershal had lived on the streets for the past seven or eight years.
The medical examiner told cops on July 31 that her death was ruled a homicide, according to cops.
Police tracked down Innes and Hopkins and arrested them at approximately 8:15 a.m. on Thursday. Investigators claimed to find the murder weapon, a Gamo Shadow Whisper air rifle, in Innes’ home.
Innes allegedly wrote the “hobo hunting” statement in a group chat that included Hopkins, according to KNSD.
Both defendants remain held without bond.
Records show Innes also faces charges of possession of an assault weapon, and two counts regarding missing firearm serial numbers.
Hopkins’ attorney will argue for bond at a hearing on Thursday.
Ryan Hopkins (pictured here) drove the vehicle while William Innes fired out with a pellet gun and fatally shot Annette Pershal, authorities said. (Screenshot: KNSD)
The lawyer, Vikas Bajaj, maintained Innes actually sent that message 12 hours after the shooting, according to KNSD.
His called his client Hopkins “a typical teenager” and “a good kid with a warm heart.”
Officers ask that anyone with information call the Homicide Unit at 619-531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.
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