Not-Guilty Plea in Slaying of Migrant : Border: San Yisdro man who shot one of border-jumping migrants dashing through his yard will be tried for murder.

A judge Monday ordered a 19-year-old San Ysidro man to stand trial for killing an illegal border-crosser he allegedly chased two blocks and shot after a group of immigrants ran through his back yard.

Harold Ray Bassham has pleaded not guilty to murder charges in the death of Humberto Reyes Miranda, 23. Reyes left Mexico City bound for Los Angeles about two months ago. He died on the morning of April 20 in a cul-de-sac on Valentino Street about a mile north of the border as he and five other migrants traversed a cement wall separating the I-5 freeway from a housing tract frequented by illegal immigrants heading north.

Authorities say Bassham admits shooting Reyes, saying Reyes was a “guide,” or smuggler, of illegal immigrants who had run through his yard several times before and had beaten and hurt Bassham’s dog.

In his questioning Monday of the key witness, 19-year-old Javier Rodriguez Martinez, Bassham’s attorney appeared to be laying groundwork for a defense that Reyes menaced Bassham just before the shooting.

Rodriguez, a childhood friend of Reyes who had joined him on the journey north, testified that he and four other immigrants had climbed over the cul-de-sac wall when he heard the screeching tires of Bassham’s car and two gunshots.

Rodriguez said he looked back over the 6-foot wall in time to see Bassham shoot Reyes, who was still on the other side, from a distance of about 45 feet.

Rodriguez admitted under questioning by Deputy Public Defender Scott Rand that Reyes was out of his sight in the moments before the shooting and that he could not see whether Reyes had something in his hand.

But he rejected Rand’s suggestion that Reyes was much closer to Bassham than 45 feet. He also testified that he never saw Reyes gesture obscenely or shout at Bassham. He said the group did not harm the dog or any property as they sprinted through back yards, a common route to the freeway.

Rand asked Rodriguez whether he does not want to believe that Reyes had any fault in the incident because he was Reyes’ close friend.

“I know he had nothing to do with what happened,” Rodriguez answered, speaking through an interpreter.

Rand declined to discuss his strategy, but his questions indicated that he will advance the idea that Reyes was an experienced guide of illegal immigrants who had crossed Bassham’s yard before.

Rodriguez testified Monday that Reyes had traveled to the United States three times in past years. But he said he never knew his friend to work as a guide in the month and a half they lived in Tijuana before starting off for Los Angeles, where they planned to work and study English.

Police tracked down Bassham’s car based on witness descriptions and arrested him the day after the slaying. They say they found the .25 caliber semi-automatic pistol that fired the fatal bullet in the car.

Neighbors have generally condemned the slaying. Some also said the violence was not surprising, however, because of intense frustration with noise, trespassing and petty crime attributed to the daily presence of the immigrants.

Migrant and Chicano activists describe the incident as a classic example of violent backlash against illegal immigrants and have demanded that Bassham be charged with a hate crime. Prosecutor Jennifer Yackle said she is still determining whether such a charge is appropriate.

The political subtext of the case drew a voice from the opposite end of the spectrum Monday: white supremacist Tom Metzger, former head of the White Aryan Resistance organization, attended the preliminary hearing. He said he was there to express his support for the suspect and those who are angry about the continuing influx of illegal immigrants.

“We are going to be monitoring every situation like this and supporting Americans who have defended their property,” he said.

The defense attorney, however, took care to distance himself from Metzger, who recently served time in jail for his role in a cross-burning incident in the Los Angeles area.

“My client’s family has nothing to do with Tom Metzger and wants nothing to do with him,” Rand said. “This case has nothing to do with race. . . . My client and his family abhor the principles of racism (Metzger) has espoused.”

Judge Frank A. Brown set a felony arraignment date for May 18. Bassham is being held on $500,000 bail.