California high school shooter's bid for release in legal limbo

Teri Figueroa, The San Diego Union-Tribune on Feb 23, 2026

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SAN DIEGO — Santana High School shooter Charles “Andy” Williams will continue to remain in custody as the courts sort out his case, which sits in a legal limbo between adult and juvenile courts.

A San Diego Juvenile Court judge revealed during a hearing Monday that another judge has put on pause Williams’ bid to be released from custody until an appeals court can take a look at his case. That pause came six days after yet another judge vacated Williams’ lengthy sentence for the deadly 2001 shooting on the Santee campus, a decision that could clear the way for his release.

Next week — March 5 — will mark 25 years since a 15-year-old Williams brought a gun to school and opened fire between class periods. Two people — Bryan Zucker, 14, and Randy Gordon, 17 — were killed. Eleven other students and two staffers were wounded.

Williams was sentenced in adult court to 50 years to life in prison. Over the last several years, changes in the law and an evolving approach regarding youth offenders cleared the way for Williams to ask to have his sentence vacated on the grounds that it could be considered de facto life without parole.

Last month, San Diego Superior Court Judge Lisa Rodriguez found that, based on case law, Williams’ sentence was equal to life without parole. She granted his request and recalled his sentence. His murder conviction still stands.

With Rodriguez’s ruling, Williams’ case was sent to Juvenile Court for resentencing, because he was 15 at the time of the crime.

Once his case is in Juvenile Court, Williams will get the benefits of current sentencing laws — and that means he could be released from custody, because the court generally can’t jail him past age 25. Williams is 40.

Immediately following Rodriguez’s decision to vacate Williams’ sentence, the District Attorney’s Office appealed.

During a status hearing Monday, Juvenile Court Judge Ana Espana acknowledged that Williams “is in a standstill, sort of in a pause. A foot in both courts at the moment.”

Prosecutors are asking the 4th District Court of Appeal to overturn Rodriguez’s ruling to vacate his sentence. The appellate court put the matter on an expedited calendar, but it is still in the early stages and it is unclear when a ruling could come.

At the same time, prosecutors asked the Juvenile Court to pause further proceedings in Williams’ case until the appeals court weighs in on Rodriguez’s decision. On Jan. 12, Juvenile Court Judge Tilisha Martin granted the request. News of that pause was made public during a status hearing Monday in front of Espana.

During Monday’s hearing, Espana also addressed a request from Williams’ attorney, Laura Sheppard, to have her client released. Sheppard maintains that the Juvenile Court should have jurisdiction, and thus Williams should be released, given his current age.

Espana said that when Martin agreed to stay the proceedings, Martin “specifically declined” to order Williams released from custody. Citing Martin’s decision, Espana said Monday it is “premature” to release Williams from custody or to move forward with any other aspects of the case.

Williams is due back in Juvenile Court on June 22 for a status hearing.

Williams, who lost a bid for parole in 2024, remains in state prison and attended Monday’s hearing via video link. Espana indicated it could be possible to transfer Williams from state prison to a local jail as he waits for the courts to sort out his case. Defense attorney Sheppard said she will consider whether to request such a move.