Trial ordered in immigrant’s killing

Tuesday, April 19, 2005 | 8:30 a.m.

A 19-year-old man accused of killing a 22-year-old man pleaded not guilty on Monday to murder.

Emmanuel Hernandez is scheduled to stand trial Sept. 19 before District Judge John McGroarty for the killing of alleged illegal immigrant Jose Gonzalez outside of an apartment complex at 4770 E. Owens Ave. on Dec. 22.

Deputy District Attorney Linda Lewis said Hernandez's case would be sent to the district attorney's office's death penalty review committee to determine whether Lennon should face the possibility of death if convicted.

Lewis said the apartment manager witnessed Hernandez in the passenger seat of a truck, which continued to drive around the parking lot of the complex parking in different spaces the day of the killing. The prosecutor said the apartment manager also saw Hernandez get out of the truck to use the payphone several times.

Lewis said the apartment manager said when Gonzalez exited his girlfriend's apartment and got into a car to leave to the complex, Hernandez got out of the truck, walked up to the car and shot Gonzalez.

Hernandez's attorney, Phillip Singer, conceded Hernandez was there the day of the shooting but had nothing to do with the killing.

Singer scoffed at the apartment manager's story saying when she testified at Hernandez's preliminary hearing she "was six feet away from him, looked at him and couldn't identify him." He said the police failed to interview some 10 witnesses at the scene who his investigator was currently interviewing.

The defense attorney suggested that Gonzalez was a drug dealer who ended up dead because he was on the wrong side of drug deal gone bad.

Lewis wouldn't deny Gonzalez may have been involved with drugs, but said even if he was that didn't excuse his life being ended.

She said several other witnesses would testify to Hernandez being in the truck seen at the apartment complex.

The prosecutor said there is currently some evidence to suggest Hernandez may have been hired to kill Gonzalez.