The trial dates have shifted yet again for the two men charged in a shooting death that happened June 17, 2024, outside Valencia Liquor in Newhall.
Omar Garcia Ramirez and Jose Corona Duarte are accused of murder in the death of Fernando Bernabe, a Newhall man who was shot and killed outside the liquor store near the intersection of Lyons and Newhall avenues.
Both men were in a physical confrontation with Bernabe just before the shooting, according to evidence presented at the preliminary hearing.
Counsel of Corona Duarte pointed to evidence that indicates Garcia Ramirez fired the weapon that killed Bernabe, in arguing for a lighter charge.
A judge denied that argument earlier this year, and both defendants face a charge of first-degree murder.
The case is now expected to head to trial next month. Previous dates had been tentatively scheduled at previous hearings for August and September.
New evidence, which was not detailed in open court, was handed over by the prosecution, according to the minute order.
“The people have given defendant’s attorney new discovery regarding jail cells,” according to the minute order from a Sept. 4 hearing. “The defendant’s attorney needs time to review the new discovery.”
The defense attorney for the man accused of being the shooter is a name known to most Angelenos who follow court proceedings: Christopher Darden.
The former prosecutor became famous in the late-1990s for his role in what was widely referred to as the “Trial of the Century,” the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office’s unsuccessful prosecution of O.J. Simpson for the murder of his ex-wife and Ron Goldman.
Darden was not immediately available for comment Friday afternoon.
Judge David Stuart held both suspects to answer at trial following their March preliminary hearing.
During those proceedings, detectives shared their observations from surveillance footage of the incident captured on nearby security cameras, which they said showed a fight and then a shooting around 11 p.m. June 16, 2024.
The suspected motive has not been identified by the prosecution. L.A. County Sheriff’s Department officials said Garcia Ramirez is a local gang member with the alias “Daffy”; however, friends and family have said Bernabe was not affiliated and he had no criminal record.
The next scheduled hearing for the case is Oct. 7, when a trial readiness hearing is scheduled. Oct. 17 would be the deadline for the trial to start, based on the schedule approved earlier this month.
