The California Supreme Court refused today to consider the case against a teenage gang member convicted of shooting at two Los Angeles police officers who were chasing him in Van Nuys in May 2007.

Alfredo Garcia of Lakeview Terrace was convicted in January 2009 of assault with a firearm on a peace officer and attempted voluntary manslaughter, and sentenced the following month to 38 years in prison.

Garcia, who was 17 at the time of the crime, was initially charged as a juvenile but was ultimately prosecuted in adult court.

In September, a three-justice panel from the state's 2nd District Court of Appeal Garcia's claim that there were errors in his trial.

Officers took up chase after hearing a noise and seeing Garcia and another man, who had been hiding behind a car, start to run on May 24, 2007.

The officers, who were unhurt, said Garcia "turned back toward them and fired the gun once with his arm parallel to the ground and pointed in their general direction," according to the appellate court panel's 19-page ruling.

Garcia denied shooting at the officers, and said the gun went off when he threw it over a metal fence as he was running away, according to the ruling.

A criminalist for the Los Angeles Police Department's firearms analysis unit tested the gun to determine its potential for accidental misfiring, and testified that he believed the handgun would fire only if it was "properly cocked" and the trigger was pulled.