PASADENA : 3 Indicted in Shooting Death of Girl on Valentine’s Day
A Los Angeles County Grand Jury has indicted an 18-year-old Pasadena man and two other suspects on murder charges in connection with the Valentine’s Day shooting death of 16-year-old Gilda Martinez of Monterey Park.
District attorney’s spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said the secret grand jury proceedings took the place of an open preliminary hearing because Angel Garcia and the other two suspects are believed to be gang members and witnesses feared for their safety.
Gibbons said 15 witnesses testified during Friday’s grand jury deliberations.
Garcia turned himself in Feb. 24 to a court counselor in Pasadena. The other suspects are still at large. The indictments were handed down Monday, and Garcia was arraigned Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court on murder, assault and robbery charges.
Garcia, being held without bail, has pleaded not guilty to the charges. He will face a pretrial hearing in Pasadena Superior Court next Thursday.
Gibbons declined to identify the two people named in the indictments. But Pasadena police have identified Henry Portillo, 18, of Pasadena as one of the suspects. The other suspect has not been identified because he is a juvenile.
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