A brazen late-morning double-murder that’s played a role in reigniting long-simmering local gang rivalries in Santa Clarita and put a community on edge is on the calendar for November, according to Los Angeles County Superior Court records available online.
More than a year after the March 18, 2023, shooting at the pool area near the Village Apartments on Valle Del Oro in Newhall, many residents have described how the violence leaves them a little more concerned about their well-being.
Shortly after 10:50 a.m., Brian Chevez, 25, and Cameron Stokes, 16, were shot in the upper torso and first responders pronounced them dead at the apartment complex.
In the weeks and months that followed, residents, particularly surrounding a corridor on Walnut Street near Downtown Newhall, who sing the city’s praises for its safety, have become wary of the growing gang violence in their neighborhood.
Lt. Hugo Reynaga, who supervised the team that investigated the shooting and within days arrested both suspects being charged in the murder, said detectives believe all four parties, and the motivation behind the shooting, were linked to local gang activity.
The victims were believed to be associated with a gang claiming territory where the shooting took place, and the suspects claimed a rival territory.
Now those suspects, at least one of them, will have their day in court.
Anthony Martinez Ortiz, 18, was arrested around 1:30 p.m. the day of the shooting, according to Sheriff’s Department arrest records available online.
Reynaga also mentioned a juvenile suspect, whom The Signal later identified through court records and a media request as a then-16-year-old Steven Rosas.
In the weeks and months following the murders, court records obtained by The Signal detail investigators’ efforts to track what they describe in the documents as growing displays of violence, first on social media, and then spilling out into the streets with a series of incidents in Newhall and Canyon Country.
On Aug. 29, nearly 18 months after the shooting deaths, Judge Bernie C. LaForteza set Martinez Ortiz’s preliminary hearing for Nov. 7, with the prosecution expecting it will take two days to present its case.
At a preliminary hearing the prosecution presents its case and the judge decides if there’s enough evidence to merit a trial.
The case is being prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Nicholas J. Kang, according to court records. He did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
A representative from the DA’s office was not immediately available to discuss the charges regarding Rosas.
Previously, the office has declined to share certain information involving juvenile suspects.
A Sheriff’s Department official who was not authorized to discuss the details of the investigation told The Signal the juvenile suspect was previously identified as a suspect in a gun-possession case, but the charges were dropped because of his age.
Martinez Ortiz remains in jail without bail pending his hearing.
