TEEN-AGER TO BE TRIED AS JUVENILE.

Byline: David Greenberg Staff Writer

Half of what authorities described as a teen-age ``Bonnie and Clyde'' duo will stand trial as a juvenile for her suspected role in a crime spree that ended with their arrests at the U.S.-Mexico border in July, officials said Wednesday.

The Oak Park girl and Agoura Hills boy, both 16, are each charged with two counts of residential burglary and one count of assault with a firearm. The boy also faces two counts of grand theft with a firearm and one count of grand theft of an automobile.

Attorney Bruce Jones, who is representing the girl, said the case has been blown out of proportion, and he agreed with Sylmar Juvenile Court Judge Morton Rochman's ruling to keep the case in juvenile court.

``They blew it up, they called it the Bonnie and Clyde case . . .,'' said Jones about the prosecutors. ``You had a highly distressed child who committed an act . . . she will never, ever commit again.''

However, Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Alan Yochelson said he believed the teens should be tried as adults.

``They should be unfit for juvenile court and tried as adults,'' said Yochelson, who oversees the Sylmar juvenile division. ``The court has to consider the sophistication of the crime, the circumstances of the crime itself, the potential for rehabilitation in the juvenile system and any past contacts with the criminal justice system. I'm not saying that they do or don't have any past criminal record.''

Authorities have previously said the teens have no previous criminal history.

The hearing date to determine if the boy will be tried as an adult is scheduled for Oct. 22 in Sylmar Juvenile Court.

Authorities said the teens in June stole a Ford Explorer and two semiautomatic handguns from the boy's uncle, who lives in the 5900 block of Saint Laurent Drive.

They broke into two homes and pulled out a gun at one of the residences before fleeing to Mexico, authorities said.

The duo later surrendered to authorities after calling their parents, who in turn spoke to sheriff's deputies.