SANTA PAULA : Brother Pleads Not Guilty in Shootings
A Santa Paula man pleaded not guilty Friday to charges that he helped his brother track down and kill one relative and seriously wound another during an escalation of a longstanding family feud.
Superior Court Judge Allan L. Steele set a Dec. 7 trial date for Jesus Maya Tellez on charges of murder and attempted murder. Tellez is accused of helping his brother, Arturo Tellez, fatally shoot their cousin, Javier Tellez, on June 23, 1991.
Police said Jesus Tellez drove his brother to Teague Park in Santa Paula, where Arturo Tellez shot Javier Tellez as he left a restroom. Arturo Tellez then turned the gun on another cousin, Jose Tellez, and shot him three times, according to police.
Jose Tellez survived but was seriously injured, police said. Jesus and Arturo Tellez disappeared after the shootings, police said. Jesus Tellez was arrested in Texas in June and was extradited to Ventura County.
The shootings apparently stemmed from a family feud that originated in Mexico, Santa Paula police said.
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