Salinas teen to stand trial in deadly shooting, first homicide of 2019 – The Californian

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FILE PHOTO: A Salinas police officer speaks with a man at the corner of E. Laurel Drive and Granada Avenue near a deadly shooting Feb. 22, 2019.(Photo: Joe Szydlowski)

Almost one year after a Salinas man was gunned down on his front porch, the teenager accused of killing him has been ordered to stand trial.

Mextli Margarito Velarde, 18, of Soledad, allegedly shot and killed Abdelwahed Rahali, 37, Feb. 22, 2019, the first homicide of that year.

On Thursday, Monterey County Superior Court Judge Mark Hood ordered him to stand trial on one count of murder and one count of shooting at a home with a special allegation for using a firearm.

At that preliminary hearing, in which a judge decides whether prosecutors have sufficient evidence to bring a defendant to trial, Salinas police testified as to how they used surveillance video and bullet analysis to determine Velarde, then 17, was the gunman.

Mextli Velarde(Photo: PROVIDED/MONTEREY COUNTY JAIL)

Salinas Police Officer Nicolas Reyes, a member of the department's Violence Suppression Task Force, described finding Rahali with a gunshot wound to his cheek at a home in the 1200 block of Granada Avenue.

"I was being flagged down frantically as I turned the corner," he testified.

He reviewed surveillance footage from the home, which showed a man wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt, dark pants and dark shoes with white soles approach Rahali along a "pony wall."

Rahali was on his porch in front of the home both individuals paused before the suspect pulled out ahandgun and fired, Reyes said. He saw two muzzle flashes on camera, though he noticed additionalbullet marks on the door frame.

One of the bullets shot at Rahali hit and shattered the window at the top of his front door.(Photo: Staff photo / Kate Cimini)

Salinas Police Officer Luis Trobio testified he'd responded to a Shot Spotter alert that five shots had been fired.

Monterey County Deputy District Attorney Stefanie Zamora declined to say how many shots had been fired or how many hit Rahali, though she acknowledged he died from "multiple" gun shot wounds.

The suspect, who also had a backpack with reflective markings, then ran northon Granada, Reyes said.

Zamora noted that backpack would turn out to be "a huge indicator" of Velarde's role in the shooting.

About eight minutes after Reyes responded,a Salinas police community service officer flagged down officer Luis Trobio near Tampico Avenue, about a half mile from the shooting, Trobio testified.

"He pulled up next to me, pointed toward Tampico, said hed observed a subject walking in the area, as he pointed in that direction, I looked and saw a male walking," he said.

He approached and shined a spotlight on Velarde, eventually ordering him to stop. Velarde complied, Trobio said.

Velarde was wearing a gray t-shirt, blue jeans and tennis shoes with white soles and carrying a black backpack.

When dispatchers broadcast an updated shooter description, Trobio said he detained Velarde and took him to the police department.

They searched the backpack and found a 9mm Luger handgun with no serial numberand latex gloves. They also foundthree 9mmrounds in his jeans' coin pocket, Trobio said.

RAW VIDEO Salinas police and fire respond to shooting on Granada Ave. Salinas Californian

Police sent the handgun and casings found at the Granada hometo the Crime Gun Intelligence program, run through the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said Mark Babione, a retired Salinas police officer and coordinator of that program.

He ran it through a series of tests designed to match bullets to guns by "stamps."

Those are seven unique, "microscopic" marks left onthe bullet's casing by the gun's parts, such as the firing pin or muzzle, he said.

"The breech is a very hard metal, the canister is soft metal.When (it's fired), that stamp takes place," Babione said.

Those stamps come fromslight differences that inadvertently occur duringthe gun's manufacturing processon an assembly line.

Salinas police and fire crews were called out to the 1200 block of Granada Avenue at about 7:50 p.m. after receiving reports of a shooting with a possible victim.(Photo: Joe Szydlowski/Staff Photo)

"Its different, different between the one before it and after it," he said.

After using a database to winnow the possible weapons, he normally will run those comparisons against 210 to 300 possible matches, he said

He said he found a "high-confidence candidate link," or a likely match, between the Luger and the casings.

However, under questioning from O'Keefe, he said it is "difficult" to describe what amounts to sufficient evidence to establish that link.

He also acknowledged that establishinglink is done by a visual inspection, a subjective process, and more modern weapons have been more difficult to match.

The9mm handgun tested was 80-percent polymer, he said.

However, Babione also said the process includes an examination by a colleague, and he also requests the police have another firearms technician review his findings to verify them.

"If you're looking for objectivity, I think peer review would be one of the paramount (ways)," he said.

Nonetheless, a "high-confidence candidate" is not the same as a match, Babione said.

Judge Hood noted the reflective markings on the backpack in photos in his ruling that Velarde should stand trial.

Though he was wearing different clothing when officer Trobio stopped him, prosecutor Zamora said there is additional surveillance footageof Velarde's actions after the shooting that was not presented during the hearing.

She said a motive has not been established, but she doesn't know of any connection between Velarde and Rahali before the shooting.

Salinas Assistant Police Chief Roberto Filice makes a statement on the homicide on Granada Avenue. Salinas Californian

Velarde was 17 when he was arrested on suspicion of Rahali's murder, but in late summera judge decided to transfer his case to adult court.

If convicted, Velarde could face 50-years-to-life in prison, she said.

He is next scheduled to appear in court March 5.

Velarde's defense attorney, Thomas O'Keefe, declined to comment after the hearing.

Velarde's loved ones declined to comment after the hearing, which they attended.Rahali's loved ones did notrespond to a request for comment.

More: UPDATE: One dead in Granada Avenue shooting, suspect arrested

Joe Szydlowski is a multimedia journalist for the Salinas Californian who covers local government, crime and cannabis. Follow him on Twitter attwitter.com/JoeSzyd_Salinas. He can be reached at 235-2360. Help support The Californian's work:https://bit.ly/2Qo298J

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Salinas teen to stand trial in deadly shooting, first homicide of 2019 - The Californian