BOYLE HEIGHTS : Suspect Pleads Not Guilty in Slaying of Counselor
A man who authorities say is a known gang member pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges he ambushed and killed a Boyle Heights gang intervention counselor and technical adviser on the Latino gang film “American Me.”
Jose Gilbert Gonzales, 29, is accused of gunning down Ana Lizarraga on May 13 in the driveway of her Lancaster Avenue home. He faces a special circumstance allegation of lying in wait, which could result in his execution if he is convicted. A second suspect is still at large.
Lizarraga, 49, was one of the top counselors with Community Youth Gang Services and was widely known in East Los Angeles neighborhoods, particularly the Romona Gardens housing project, where she grew up. She was standing in her driveway when two men in ski masks shot her several times. Officers in a passing patrol car arrested Gonzales after a foot chase.
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