A man suspected of shooting and killing his wife outside their Scripps Ranch marriage counselor’s office pleaded not guilty on Monday to murder charges.
Jeremy Green appeared in court on Monday, three days after he surrendered to authorities who had tracked him down to Mexico.
A San Diego County judge set bail at $5 million, saying Green was a flight risk considering he fled to Mexico after a planned murder.
Prosecutors said Green, 40, escaped in a 2007 silver Corvette after shooting his wife, Tressa Green, 37, to death in the parking lot of a business complex on June 6 following a marriage counseling session that Green had suggested.
Deputy District Attorney Julie Lynn said Green shot his wife three times and then took off in his Corvette.
The fatal shooting sparked a statewide manhunt for Green, who law enforcement called armed and dangerous.
Last week, investigators found Green's Corvette abandoned in a Jack-in-the-Box parking lot in San Ysidro near the U.S.-Mexico border. The parking lot was within a short walk to the pedestrian border crossing.
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Surveillance video provided by the lot's employees shows a man in a blue shirt parking the Corvette on Saturday at 3 p.m. Green shot his wife at about 2:10 p.m. that day, according to police.
Prosecutors now believe Green had parked his car in San Ysidro and donned a black hat and black shirt before crossing the border.
Authorities were able to track Green down in Cancun, Mexico. Capt. Nisleit said police had been in contact with the suspect for "multiple days" negotiating his surrender.
"We all hope that domestic violence will come to an end because it not only affects this couple, but the kids, too," Lynn said Monday.
Green does not yet have a lawyer and on Monday, requested a court-appointed attorney.
If convicted of murder, Green faces 50 years to life in prison.
