19-year-old named as suspect in Halloween shooting
The L.A. County District Attorney’s Office on Wednesday filed two counts of murder against a Newhall man in connection with a 2025 shooting that left two people dead outside a home on De Wolfe Road in Newhall.
That morning, his preliminary arraignment was rescheduled for Feb. 25, according to the District Attorney’s Office. No reason was given and no plea was entered on the record.
The lone suspect identified so far through court records in the murders of Elijah Harts and Anthony Mora is Alejandro Trujillo, a 19-year-old Newhall resident who also has a violent conviction as a juvenile, which is noted on his criminal complaint.
The criminal complaint names Trujillo as the person responsible for an Oct. 31 shooting, which happened at approximately 11:24 p.m. that night in the 25000 block of DeWolfe Road, according to interviews with Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station officials shortly after the incident.
One victim, described as a Black man in his 30s and later identified as Harts, was pronounced dead at the scene; a second victim, described as a 27-year-old Hispanic man and later identified as Mora, was taken to Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.
L.A. County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau officials expressed concern Tuesday around the release of information regarding their investigation, and refused to release any information regarding the grounds behind either of Trujillo’s previous arrests.
The DA’s office is requesting more than $5 million bail, according to the complaint. The plea from his preliminary arraignment Wednesday was not immediately available, according to officials.
It’s not known at this time whether Trujillo is believed to be the lone suspect in the investigation into the murders of Harts and Mora. Trujillo appears to have been picked up twice in connection with the shooting.
There’s been no information released regarding a motive or why either victim may have been targeted by a shooting. The initial information released by the Sheriff’s Department indicated the incident may have stemmed from a fight that happened at a Halloween party at a nearby residence, according to the Nixle alert.
There were two male suspects who were last seen running away from the location in an unknown direction, the Nixle added, and the investigation is ongoing.
The shooting happened in the hilly areas of Newhall, south of Lyons Avenue and a few blocks east of Wiley Canyon Road.
Trujillo previously was arrested at 1:15 p.m. Jan. 27 by the Sheriff’s Department’s Community Partnerships, or COPS, Bureau. He was released two days later with the reason listed in the LASD custody records as there were insufficient grounds to file a criminal complaint.
The second time, Trujillo was taken into custody by detectives from the Homicide Bureau at 10 a.m. Monday, according to LASD records.
The previous conviction for Trujillo involved an assault charge he committed as a juvenile, according to the complaint.
He also was previously identified as a member of a Newhall gang in court records from a raid targeting the group in April.
Anyone with information about this incident can contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Anyone who would prefer to provide information anonymously, can call “Crime Stoppers” by dialing 800-222-TIPS (8477), use a smartphone by downloading the “P3 Tips” Mobile APP on Google play or the Apple App Store or by using the website lacrimestoppers.org. The phone number to reach the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station is 661-260-4000.
