Charge Reduced in 1974 Shotgun Killing

A Van Nuys Municipal Court judge on Thursday reduced a charge of murder to involuntary manslaughter against a man recently arrested in connection with a 15-year-old murder.

Judge Aviva K. Bobb reduced the charge against Juvenal Camarena Mena, 51, of San Fernando because of lack of evidence in the Jan. 12, 1974, slaying. Mena is accused of fatally shooting Carlos Rodriguez Camacho, 32, outside the victim’s Chatsworth apartment following a drunken argument.

Although witnesses identified Mena as the gunman, San Fernando police were never able to locate him, Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert Dver said.

However, defense attorney Michael Plotkin said his client owns a house in San Fernando, where he has lived for the past 15 years.

San Fernando police detectives investigating the case could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Traffic Stop

Mena was finally arrested in February after he was stopped by police for a traffic violation, Dver said. But Dver said he has not been able to locate witnesses to the 15-year-old shooting and as a result, could not pursue a murder charge against Mena.

According to court documents, witnesses told police at the time that Mena and Camacho had been drinking with friends at a San Fernando bar before the shooting. At some point, witnesses said, the men left the bar and went to Camacho’s apartment, where they got into an argument.

Mena left, but as he got into his car, Camacho came after him and they fought, a witness told police. The witness said he heard a gunshot before Mena drove off.

After his arrest, Mena told police that he was afraid of what the victim might do, so he pulled out a shotgun and aimed it at Camacho, Dver said. Mena told investigators that he did not intend to kill Camacho, but that the victim grabbed the barrel of the shotgun and it went off, Dver said.

Mena, free on $1,000 bail, was ordered to return to court on June 15 for arraignment. Plotkin said he will ask at the arraignment that the case be dismissed. He said the law requires prosecutors to file charges against a suspect within three years after a crime is committed. Bobb said she would have to consult a 1974 California Penal Code before considering Plotkin’s plan.