What should become of 61-year-old Bellflower truck driver Jerry Cress?

As John Canalis writes in this morning’s Press-Telegram, Cress is charged with one count of murder–and three additional felony counts: being a felon in possession of a firearm, being a felon in possession of ammunition and marijuana cultivation–in the Jan. 21, 2007 death of Jacob T. Walker, 15, of Paramount.

He admits “lying to sheriff’s investigators, telling them that he fired a pellet gun, rather than the .22 caliber pistol used to kill” Walker, Canalis writes. “But the 61-year-old truck driver disputes the charge against him: murder.”

In pre-trial hearing testimony and law enforcement interrogations, and an interview with the Press-Telegram, Canalis writes, “Cress argues that he was defending himself and his pets.”

Is that a defensible position? Writes Canalis: “Legal principles that allow a homeowner to use a weapon to protect the inside of a home do not apply in the same way to the backyard – at least in California.”

Cress says he woke at about 6 a.m. on Jan. 21, 2007, “to the sound of his three dogs – a German shepherd, a collie and a poodle – barking in his backyard at 8572 Park St.”

“He told his wife, Roxanne Cress, to call 911. He grabbed a pistol and went outside,” Canalis writes. “It was still dark, save for a 300-watt security light.”

On his patio, Cress says he saw two shadowy figures–later determined to be Walker and 25-year-old Duane Berry, his half-brother.

“I told them, `Get on the ground,’ ” Cress said. “They said, ‘(expletive) you!’ and started coming at me. So I fired two shots at the back fence …

“Immediately, he goes over he fence, and he was gone. Then the one near the patio came toward me with a hammer, and then half-assed tried to hit me. Then he was gone.”

“[Cress] said the burglars were there to steal his marijuana,” Canalis writes.

“They had been taking plants over the fence,” Cress told Canalis.

(According to a memo by one of Cress’s former defense attorneys, the defendant is a certified “caregiver” who can “legally grow, harvest, process and sell marijuana to others with permission from doctors,” Canalis notes.)

And that was it, for a short while. Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies arrived, but according to court papers, Canalis writes, Cress declined to file a report.

The deputies came back about 40 minutes later, and arrested Cress on suspicion of murder: Walker had been hit twice, and had died at Lakewood Regional Medical Center.

“I didn’t mean to hit him,” Cress told Canalis in an interview at Los Angeles County Men’s Central Jail. “All I wanted to do is scare him.”

But now, Walker is dead–a year after going on his first date at age 14. They went Rollerblading.

“All I know is my son was shot in the back, and I watched him die,” Walker’s mother, Yolanda Rice of Paramount told the P-T.

The case comes back to Norwalk Superior Court on Aug. 8 , at which point Superior Court Judge Roger Ito (any relation to Lance Ito?) will very likely set a trial date.

Tags: California, Duane Berry, Jacob T. Walker, Jerry Cress, lakewood, Lakewood Regional Medical Center, Lance Ito, Long Beach, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Norwalk Superior Court, Norwalk Superior Court Judge Roger Ito, Paramount, press telegram, Rollerblades, Roxanne Cress, Southern California, The District Weekly, Theo Douglas, Yolanda Rice