SAN FRANCISCO -- The teen charged with shooting San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall during an attempted robbery last year will be tried as a juvenile, a judge ruled Friday.

The suspect was a 17-year-old high school senior at the time of the August 2024 shooting. He is now 18 and would have faced much steeper penalties if found guilty of attempted murder, assault and attempted robbery in adult criminal court rather than the juvenile system, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Friday.

Pearsall was alone and walking to his car after shopping at luxury stores in the city's Union Square when the suspect saw the NFL player was wearing a Rolex watch and other expensive jewelry and tried to rob him at gunpoint, San Francisco police said.

A struggle ensued, and gunfire from t

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