An 18-year-old man was charged Thursday with murder for the weekend shooting death of a U.S. Army veteran in Sylmar.
Vincent Anthony Estrada pleaded not guilty in a San Fernando courtroom in connection with the killing of 21-year-old Francisco Garcia early Sunday morning.
Along with one count of murder, Estrada is charged with a count each of attempted murder and discharge of a firearm with gross negligence.
Garcia’s shooting had “nothing to do with his military service,” according to Los Angeles police Lt. Paul Vernon.
“There was a long-simmering dispute between rival tagger groups or within the same group,” Vernon said.
Garcia’s family and police initially said he recently returned from a tour of duty in Afghanistan, but Army officials said this week he served for two years but was never deployed overseas.
Estrada was arrested Tuesday afternoon by Los Angeles police.
He remains jailed on just over $2 million bail while awaiting his next court appearance Dec. 18.
— City News Service