Man Pleads Not Guilty in Gardener’s Slaying
A transient accused of beating to death a Glendale gardener pleaded not guilty last week to a murder charge and was ordered to undergo a blood test.
Christopher Pinedo, 28, will return to court June 5 for a preliminary hearing. If convicted, he could be sentenced to life in prison.
The body of Jimmy Noda, 67, was discovered April 5 in Noda’s Glendale home after police found his bloodstained car abandoned outside a Denny’s restaurant in North Hollywood. When Pinedo was arrested, he had a deep cut on his hand, police said.
Authorities said they were uncertain how Noda and Pinedo met. Pinedo admitted to police that he had beaten Noda, but said he left while the gardener was still alive and denied killing him, Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael Pargament said.
Pinedo was arrested April 28 in Studio City after he jaywalked in front of two Los Angeles police officers, who matched him to a composite drawing of a murder suspect that they had seen that morning.
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