SANTA PAULA : Man Pleads Not Guilty in Killing of Foreman
A 23-year-old transient accused of fatally shooting his former ranch foreman in Santa Paula pleaded not guilty to murder charges Tuesday in Ventura County Municipal Court.
Judge Bruce A. Clark scheduled a June 22 preliminary hearing to determine if there is enough evidence to proceed against Jose Luis Gonzalez.
Gonzalez was arrested hours after Rosario de la Cruz, 47, of Santa Paula was shot four times in the chest while the ranch foreman stood on a porch at his house in the 100 block of Willard Road.
No motive for the May 14 shooting was given by investigators, but Sheriff’s Lt. Gary Cook said Gonzalez had worked for De la Cruz earlier.
Although Gonzalez will be represented in the case by the public defender’s office, an attorney has not yet been assigned to the case. Deputy Dist. Atty. James D. Ellison, who will prosecute the case, declined to comment after the plea Tuesday.
The De la Cruz shooting was one of three slayings in Ventura County that occurred over a 24-hour period last month.
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