2 Girls, Man Arraigned in Officer’s Shooting
Two girls from Highland Park, ages 13 and 14, on Wednesday denied assault and robbery charges in the holdup and shooting last Saturday of an off-duty Los Angeles police officer who was critically wounded in an ensuing gun battle outside her Santa Clarita home. A 16-year-old youth, Joel Garcia Valenzuela of Highland Park, was killed.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Jaime Corral set a trial date for July 9 and ordered the girls held in a juvenile detention center. They are charged with conspiracy to commit robbery, attempted robbery, assault with a deadly weapon and attempted grand theft of an auto. Another suspect, Arvin Mani, 20, also of Highland Park, pleaded not guilty to the same charges Tuesday. He is being held in lieu of $1 million bail.
The officer, Stacy Lim, 27, on Wednesday remained in guarded but improving condition at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital, authorities said.
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