Decision on Death Penalty ‘Weeks Away’
Prosecutors said Wednesday that a decision on whether to seek the death penalty for a 22-year-old accused killer is still “weeks away.”
John Charles Alvez of Lancaster is charged with killing and robbing 21-year-old Marco Aurelio Rodriguez as he was tending the cash register at the family owned Carniceria Rodriguez butcher shop in Moorpark on May 4.
Alvez delivered spices to the store weekly and knew the victim. Investigators said they found Alvez with more than $1,000 they believe he took from the cash register. The robbery makes him eligible for the death penalty, said Deputy Dist. Atty. James D. Ellison.
Ellison said prosecutors will spend the next several weeks conducting a background investigation on Alvez, who is also known as Juan, to determine if they will ask a jury to send Alvez to Death Row.
“It takes a lot of time to get background information,” Ellison said. “It is a long and involved process.”
Alvez pleaded not guilty to all charges and is being held without bail. A judge on Tuesday ordered Alvez to stand trial after a daylong preliminary hearing.
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