Tujunga Man Charged in Shooting of Girl in Reseda

A man accused of wounding a 3-year-old girl while shooting at the child’s mother was charged with four counts of attempted murder Friday and held in lieu of more than $2-million bail, authorities said.

Juan Manolo Cienfuegos, 24, of Tujunga was also charged with the special allegation of causing great bodily injury, said Los Angeles County Deputy Dist. Atty. Carole Chizever.

The child, Vanessa Barcenas, is recovering from the wound, which does not threaten her life, Los Angeles police said.

Although only the child was hit, Chizever said prosecutors filed the additional attempted murder charges Friday because Cienfuegos allegedly fired five or six shots during the attack, which endangered three other people.

Cienfuegos will be arraigned Monday.

The shooting occurred Thursday afternoon outside a Reseda apartment building where Cienfuegos’ ex-girlfriend, Christina Stevens, 21, lived until earlier this summer, authorities said.

While Cienfuegos and Stevens were at the complex, a dispute erupted between them and one of the building’s tenants, Eileen Cortez, 21, police said.

The nature of the dispute was not determined, but it caused Cienfuegos to fire at a group of people outside the apartment building, which included Cortez and her child, said LAPD Detective Rick Swanston.

Police said Cienfuegos, Stevens and 24-year-old Angel Lopez, who had accompanied them, left the scene in a pickup truck, but were later arrested.

Charges were not filed against Stevens.

Lopez, of Glendale, was held on an outstanding felony warrant, but authorities declined to say what the warrant was for.

In an interview Friday, Stevens said she had moved out of the building because she feared for her childrens’ safety. On Thursday, she returned with Cienfuegos, her ex-boyfriend, so he could help carry furniture and protect her, she said.