Barrage of charges in teen center shooting
Yuba City suspect faces three counts of attempted murder in Marysville party incident
A Yuba City man was bound over for trial Thursday on most of the 96 charges and penalty enhancements stemming from a March 15 shooting incident at the Allyn Scott Youth & Community Center in Marysville.
Alexander Ray Warren's relatives shed tears as Yuba County visiting Judge James E. Cadle set a June 30 arraignment.
Warren, 22, allegedly used an Uzi semiautomatic pistol to wound three people leaving a rap concert, then forced his way into a stranger's car in an attempt to escape.
Charges include three counts of attempted murder, carjacking and kidnapping.
Deputy District Attorney Michael Byrne withdrew enhancements alleging the shootings were gang-related. Evidence was insufficient, he said.
Byrne also withdrew enhancements for using an assault weapon. The Uzi may not have qualified as such, he said in an interview.
The gun was found at the scene and is being tested by the state Department of Justice.
Even with the dropped enhancements, Warren could serve as long as 50 years in prison before becoming eligible for parole, said Byrne.
Cadle rejected a request by Warren's attorney, Mani Sidhu, to reduce Warren's $1 million bail. Warren represents "a very substantial danger" to the community, as evidenced by witnesses' fear of testifying, the judge said.
Warren is a member of the Norteños street gang, authorities say.
According to Byrne, some witnesses have backed away from statements they made to investigators.
Warren's ex-wife, Yesenia Melchor, nervously testified that Warren told her two days after the shooting that he arrived at the concert, saw "old friends" that he no longer got along with, and called for other friends to bring him a gun.
Warren, who also was wounded in the melee, said he was shot before he began shooting, according to Melchor.
In his cross-examination of Melchor, Sidhu's questions suggested she gave Marysville police damaging information about Warren in order to win custody of the couple's daughter.
One of the shooting victims, David Guzman of Gridley, told investigators he did not know who shot him and was afraid to talk, Butte County Probation Officer Dawn Hurd testified.
"He did not directly tell me Alexander Warren was the person who shot him," Hurd said. Later, he wanted to know why Warren had shot him, she said.
Guzman told a relative, Fernando Guzman, that Warren had shot him, Sgt. Dean Price of the Gridley-Biggs Police Department testified.
Sgt. Christian Sachs of the Marysville Police Department testified he found the discarded Uzi about 75 yards from where Warren allegedly hijacked the car. That was also where Warren got out and ran after realizing police had sealed the only exit from the community center, according to testimony.
Cadle ruled the 75-yard distance was sufficient to charge Warren with carjacking and kidnapping.
