10 Counts Added in Shootings, Standoff at Santa Monica Pier

Prosecutors on Thursday filed 10 more felony counts against Oswaldo Amezcua, the man accused of holding 15 people hostage and shooting three police officers in a Fourth of July standoff at the Santa Monica Pier.

Amezcua, 25, of Baldwin Park now faces 16 felony counts in connection with the early morning shootout that started after Santa Monica police officers arrested his friend, Joseph Conrad Flores, 30.

Amezcua “is realistically facing multiple life sentences,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Larry Morrison said.

The prosecutor said Amezcua will face even more charges in the coming weeks as the investigation of the incident continues.

In Santa Monica Superior Court on Thursday, Judge Richard Neidorf agreed to postpone arraignment for the two men a second time, to July 27, to give defense attorneys a chance to review the new charges.

In Morrison’s amended complaint, bail for Amezcua was recommended at $11.9 million, an increase from the $8.48 million set last week. Flores’ bail remains $1 million.

Both men are being held in the Los Angeles County Jail, authorities said.

The judge reprimanded Morrison and the defense attorneys for refusing to discuss the case in open court and for demanding that news cameras be banned from the courtroom.

“This case is of public interest,” Neidorf said. “If I deny [the media] the right to photograph the [July 27] hearing, I need to give them a reason.”

Amezcua’s face was broadcast on national television on Independence Day after he reportedly stormed the Playland Arcade on the pier about 1:30 a.m. Police say he saw Flores’ arrest, ran across the boardwalk and opened fire, injuring three police officers.

Three civilians were injured during the gun battle, including a 17-year-old youth, but it is unclear who fired the shots that hit them because Santa Monica police returned fire.

Amezcua barricaded himself and 15 others inside the arcade. He surrendered to police 4 1/2 hours later.

All three officers have been released from the hospital. The most seriously wounded Santa Monica officer, Christina Coria, went home Tuesday, a hospital spokesman said.

During the standoff, Santa Monica police handcuffed one of the women taken hostage and put her in a police car, Morrison said. It is unclear whether police at the time suspected her of being Amezcua’s accomplice, Morrison said, but “it was quickly determined that she was not involved.”

Amezcua faces seven counts of attempted murder of a peace officer, six counts of false imprisonment of a hostage, one count of kidnapping, one count of assault with a firearm and one count of being a felon in possession of a gun.

His co-defendant Flores faces one count of being a felon in possession of a gun.

The men have been depicted by authorities as hardened members of a decades-old Baldwin Park gang who shoot rivals execution-style and fire on police.

Police say they are wanted in connection with three killings reported last month in San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties.