Teen shot in Planada area

A 15-year-old boy is expected to survive after what deputies suspect was an accidental shooting in the Planada area Friday night.

Merced County sheriff's deputies said details about the shooting are sketchy because the victim and his older brother were uncooperative during the investigation.

The shooting was reported about 9:30 p.m. after Deputy Chris Chilton tried to pull over a late-model Lincoln for speeding through a stop sign and driving erratically near Childs Avenue and Plainsburg Road.

The car stopped at Childs and Bodega avenues, and two of the car's four occupants took off running, according to Deputy Tom MacKenzie, sheriff's spokesman.

The deputy approached the car and saw the 15-year-old boy in the front passenger seat, with a gunshot wound to his lower back. The other passenger remaining inside the car was the victim's brother, 28-year-old Saul Granados, who also was sitting in the front seat.

The victim was taken to a Modesto hospital and treated.

Deputies found a sawed-off shotgun inside the car.

After further investigation, deputies determined one of the car's occupants in the back seat shot the victim by accident. Deputies are still determining whether the victim was shot with the shotgun or another weapon.

Both the victim and his brother are validated gang members, according to deputies.

Granados was arrested on suspicion of possession of a sawed-off shotgun, driving on a suspended license and participating in a criminal street gang. He is being held at the Merced County Jail in lieu of $55,360 bail.