A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge set a January date for a preliminary hearing for the trial in a double murder alleged to be part of a decadeslong rivalry between local gangs in Canyon Country and Newhall, according to court records.
Brian Chevez, 25, and Cameron Stokes, 16, were shot and killed March 18, 2023, in the community pool area at The Village apartment complex off Valle Del Oro.
Detectives with the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Bureau quickly identified gang violence as the motive, which was reported as a factor in several subsequent shootings.
Within three days, two reported gang members were arrested: Anthony Ernesto Martinez Ortiz, who turned 18 a month before the shooting, and a juvenile, who was later identified in court records as then-17-year-old Steven Omar Rosas.
Earlier this year, there were several significant actions that led to next year’s preliminary hearing, nearly three years after the shooting.
Rosas, now 19, was identified in January by veteran prosecutor Nick Kang as the person who was believed to be the shooter. Subsequent filings from an attorney for Martinez Ortiz indicated that, in light of that claim, his client might seek a proffer, or plea deal, but none was reached, per L.A. County Superior Court records.
An Oct. 27 court order indicated Rosas was transferred from the custody of Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall to Department S in the San Fernando Courthouse, for his arraignment, when he pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors re-evaluated the status of Rosas’ case in the juvenile justice system based on two factors, according to a statement from the DA’s office in January: guidelines mandated in Special Directive 24-06 and in Welfare and Institutions Code section 707(a)(3).
Special Directive 24-06 was one of several District Attorney Nathan Hochman issued during his first month in office that changed prosecutorial policy from the previous administration.
On Nov. 13, Judge Pamela Usher called the case back to her courtroom for Jan. 9, when a preliminary hearing would likely follow shortly thereafter.
Usher identified two women as having warrants attached to them mandating their appearance in court.
Only one witness showed up in August for the previous hearing Usher ordered, prompting Usher to order warrants and continue the case. It was the second time that a witness failed to show, with fear as a factor that multiple investigators have mentioned as a real challenge in addressing gang crime in that neighborhood.
Following the shooting, LASD Homicide Bureau Lt. Hugo Reynaga said in 2023 that Chevez and Stokes were shot multiple times in the upper torso while at a pool in the center of the complex in front of children sitting in a nearby hot tub. There was speculation at the time that the two were targeted for their gang involvement.
Martinez Ortiz is facing 25 years to life in state prison for each count of first-degree murder, if convicted. Rosas has special allegations attached that could result in a sentence of life without parole, if he’s convicted.
At a preliminary hearing, a judge hears the prosecution’s case, any affirmative defense, and then determines whether there’s enough potential evidence to prove guilt at a trial.
The witness warrants are part of a broader concern in that area of town, as a stabbing murder that took place days before the shooting in the same neighborhood never saw a trial after a witness failed to show up to the preliminary hearing.
Stephen Castro, a Canyon Country man, was arrested on suspicion of murder by Homicide Bureau detectives and a murder charge was filed by the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office for the March 11, 2023, stabbing.
Castro, whose arrest was announced the day after the stabbing, is identified in numerous search warrant requests as a suspected local gang member. After more than a year of continuances, he never faced trial. A spokeswoman confirmed the case was dropped in January. No other arrests have been announced.
