Case Dropped Against 2nd Man in Back-Yard Slaying : Courts: D.A. asks dismissal in killing of teacher’s aide, wounding of his wife. Charges stand against a third defendant.

Charges were dropped Tuesday against a second young man accused of killing a teacher’s aide and wounding his wife at a back-yard birthday party earlier this year.

The Orange County district attorney’s office recommended that charges against Artemio Rios, 21, be dropped because of insufficient evidence.

Last week, against the recommendation of the district attorney’s office, a Superior Court judge dismissed charges against another defendant in the case, Luis Placencia, 19, for lack of evidence.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Mark Sevigny said the dismissals will not affect the case against the third defendant, Ronald Azevedo, 19, whose next court appearance is set for July 24. Like Rios, Azevedo has been free on bail.

The three were charged with killing Joel Davalos, 21, a teacher’s aide at Jackson Elementary School, and critically injuring his wife, Sylvia Davalos, also 21.

Police believe that members of a Santa Ana gang were looking for rival gang members when they burst into the back yard on Feb. 3, spraying more than 30 rounds from an AK-47 assault rife.

Sevigny said Tuesday’s action “does not bar us from coming back” and charging Rios later.

“My feeling is that if they do obtain addition evidence they will refile the case,” Rios’ attorney, Marlin Stapleton Jr., said. “They’re sort of drawing back to fight the battle another day if the evidence allows them to.”

Stapleton said that, unlike the other two defendants, a search of Rios’ house yielded no weapons or other incriminating evidence. The only evidence linking Rios and Placencia to the crime was a statement made by Azevedo, which is legally insufficient, according to Stapleton.

“The law views those types of confessions as inherently untrustworthy and thus they require corroboration,” Stapleton said.

A fourth suspect, Joseph Florencio Arvizu, 19, is still being sought by police.