A Valencia man accused of strangling Brayan “Brian” Jose Rodriguez to death in September is scheduled to appear in court Monday to set a date for his preliminary hearing.
Christian Alexander Ortiz, 21, charged with murder last month, entered a plea of not guilty in San Fernando Superior Court.
During a preliminary hearing, prosecutors will present evidence in the case, and the defense can respond, after which the judge will decide if the case should go to trial.
Ortiz, who remains in custody in the Twin Towers Correctional Facility with bail set at $2 million, was arrested on suspicion of murder by deputies of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station about 3 a.m. on Sept. 25, 2017..
Detectives with the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department’s Homicide Bureau began probing the circumstances surrounding Rodriguez’s death which occurred shortly before 4 p.m. Sept. 24 inside a closet of a house on the 23600 block of Via Valer, by Valencia Glen Park.
Based on interviews and evidence at the location, it was determined that the victim died at the hands of another and the suspect was responsible for his death, according to a LASD news release issued in September.
Rodriguez, 20, identified by prosecutors as the accused man’s boyfriend, was reported missing on Sept. 22, prompting searches to find him throughout that weekend.
He was set to check in at the University of California San Diego on Saturday, but failed to do so.
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