A teenager who National City police arrested in connection with the November shooting death of a 12-year-old boy was arraigned Monday, but not on charges directly related to the killing.
Instead, Carlos Maldonado, 18, pleaded not guilty in Chula Vista Superior Court to weapons charges with a gang allegation after prosecutors said he possessed a concealed firearm in his car that bore no serial numbers.
Officials said Maldonado — a high school senior — was arrested on weapons charges connected to incidents on Feb. 4 and 6 and faces a maximum penalty of seven years in prison if convicted.
Last week, National City police said they arrested Maldonado in connection with a shooting that killed seventh grader Elijah Smith and wounded four others.
Deputy District Attorney Kerry Conway acknowledged during the hearing that Maldonado had been arrested in connection with the homicide. But, she said, “that case remains under investigation.”
Due to Maldonado being charged Monday on only the two weapons charges, his public defender requested that he be given a supervised release or that the bail be reasonably set. Her client, a senior at Lincoln High School, does not have a previous criminal record and would still be able to attend school with an ankle monitor, she said.
Conway alleged that Maldonado was a gang member, and two days prior to his arrest on suspicion of weapons charges had posted on social media a video of himself with the firearm.
Conway said the video was posted while Maldonado was in a rival gang’s territory as a taunt. “There has been ongoing gang violence between his gang and the gang whose territory he was in,” she said.
The prosecutor asked for the bail to be somewhere between $300,000 to $500,000 given his alleged gang affiliation and potential flight risk.
Judge Roy Lai ultimately set bail at $50,000 and ordered Maldonado, should he bail out, to stay away from known gang members.
Investigators did not specify why Maldonado was not charged in connection with the shooting that took place on Nov. 15, during a party at an abandoned house in National City.
On the night of the shooting, officers received reports that multiple people had been shot at a home on N Avenue near Ninth Street. Elijah died before he could be taken to a hospital.
Elijah’s family has said they did not know how he, a Lemon Grove Academy Middle student, was able to get to the party.
In the courtroom Monday, both Maldonado’s and Elijah’s families filled rows of seats on opposite sides of the gallery. Smith’s family wore shirts bearing a photo of the 12-year-old’s face with the words “Forever 12” written just below the image.
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