One of two young men accused in a fatal shooting during a botched robbery attempt in Point Loma pleaded not guilty Monday to seven felony counts, including murder, attempted murder and attempted robbery.
Armando Silvestre Alvarado, 19, is accused along with co-defendant Angel Garcia, 18, in the Nov. 25 shooting death of 18-year-old Eduardo Salguero. He was arrested on Dec. 12. Garcia was arrested Dec. 2 and previously pleaded not guilty to the same counts.
According to prosecutors, Salguero arranged to make a purchase via Snapchat and met with the supposed sellers in a parking lot behind the Vons supermarket on Midway Drive.
When Salguero and another person arrived in a car at about 6 p.m., the defendants allegedly entered the vehicle and demanded money from the victims at gunpoint, Deputy District Attorney Miriam Hemming said at Garcia's arraignment.
Salguero was shot in the back and his acquaintance ran out of the car and was shot at while fleeing, she said. The bullet missed the second person but struck the Vons supermarket, according to Hemming.
The car ended up crashing into a retaining wall in the access road behind the shopping center's businesses. Salguero, who was found behind the wheel of the crashed car, was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
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Investigators have not disclosed what led them to identify Alvarado and Garcia as the suspects.
The criminal complaint charging both men with murder in connection with the Nov. 25 shooting also charges Garcia in a separate armed robbery that allegedly occurred a few weeks prior to Salguero's slaying, in which a victim's wallet, cellphone, and other belongings were taken at gunpoint, Hemming said.
Garcia is being held on $3 million bail, while Alvarado remains in custody on $2 million bail. Their next court date is a Jan. 28 readiness conference.
