DURHAM - Delia Garcia was horrified but not greatly surprised to learn that her son was accused of taking part in a two-county string of crimes that ended with a Durham officer shooting and killing one of her son's friends.

"Once a teenage boy starts running with the wrong crowd, you know what's going to happen," she said Wednesday as she attended a court appearance for her son, Jesus Acre, 16. "You're either going to visit them in jail or visit them in the cemetery."

Police on Wednesday identified the person killed in the shooting early Tuesday morning as Samuel Reyes Uscanga, 16, of Greensboro. When Uscanga allegedly pointed a gun toward officers in front of the Durham Public Library's main branch, Officer B.D. Opitz fired his handgun.

Garcia's son and Steaphan Ascenio Vasquez, also 16, appeared before Durham District Court Judge James Hill on Wednesday. Hill refused to lower their bail but said he intended to address the issue again later in the week. Both remained at the Durham County jail with bail set at $500,000 and $550,000, respectively. Each also faces charges in Wake County.

"We have two kids accused of big-folks things," Hill said. "I'm concerned for them, and I'm concerned for the public."

A companion of the two youths, Nelson Rafael Hernandez, 19, was apprehended at the scene of the shooting but escaped while handcuffed by kicking the glass out of a police car window. Raleigh police arrested him Tuesday night at a residence on Fort Sumter Road in Raleigh.

Hernandez flashed hand signs Wednesday afternoon as he was led into court for an appearance before Wake District Court Judge Shelley Desvousges. She increased his bail to $750,000 when he told her, through an interpreter, that he was an illegal immigrant from El Salvador.

The three teenagers are accused of robbing a Raleigh resident of his wallet, cell phone and vehicle, then attempting to rob a woman in Durham. The latter incident was witnessed by undercover police, who called in uniformed officers. A vehicle chase through East Durham ensued, ending downtown at the library, where the shooting occurred.

Raleigh investigators said in a search warrant that the three suspects and the slain youth belonged to the Latin King street gang. Garcia said she saw gang graffiti on her son's personal belongings but he wouldn't tell her whether he was in a gang.

Acre, who wanted to become a lawyer, was born in Wake County but spent most of his life with his father in Oakland, Calif., his mother said. Acre moved to Durham last year to live with his mother and was a student at Riverside High School until he threatened a student and was expelled. Garcia said she appealed the expulsion. School officials could not determine the case's status late Wednesday afternoon.

Garcia said Acre met the other three teenagers about a month ago. She said she told him to stay away from them. She set rules, such as being home at 9:30 p.m., that her son did not want to follow. So he moved in with Vasquez and Hernandez in Raleigh.

Vasquez worked at a Finish Line athletic wear store in Raleigh. A manager who answered the phone but did not give his name said Steaphan was "a good worker" and that the teenager was on vacation until the case was sorted out.

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