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Teen accidentally shot in Planada
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A vehicle stop on a speeding car in Planada Friday night turned up a teenager with a gunshot wound.

A Merced County Sheriff’s deputy spotted the older model Lincoln speed through a stop sign at Childs Avenue and Plainsburg Road and initiated a traffic stop.

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

Inside the vehicle the deputy found a 15-year-old boy with a gunshot wound to his lower back. He was taken by ambulance to a Modesto hospital and is expected to recover from his wound, MacKenzie said.

Also in the car was Saul Granados, 28, the older brother of the victim. Authorities also discovered a sawed-off shotgun.

After further investigation it was determined that the victim was shot by accidental discharge from the occupants who were sitting in the back seat, MacKenzie said. It is unknown if he was shot with the shotgun or another weapon.

MacKenzie said both the victim and Granados are validated gang members and “were extremely uncooperative with law enforcement.”

Granados was arrested for possession of a sawed-off shotgun, driving on a suspended license and participating in criminal street gang and remains jailed on a $55,360 bail.