Crime & Safety

Preliminary Hearing Date Set for Deadly Alley Shooting Suspects

The suspects are accused of shooting to death a Santa Monica man in an alleged gang turf war.

A preliminary hearing date has been set for the three suspects accused of murdering a 29-year-old man in a Santa Monica alley near Santa Monica College.

Christopher Chonan Osumi, 19, Meliton Lorenzo Lopez, 23, and Noah Jason Farris, 32, will face a judge on Nov. 18 to determine if there’s enough evidence for a trial.

Osumi and Lopez are accused in the shooting death of Gil Verastegui in an apparent gang rivalry turf war. The shooting happened on June 11 where Osumi and Lopez allegedly walked up to Verastegui and another man in an alley in the 1500 block of Michigan Avenue and opened fired. Verastegui died at the hospital and the other victim, whose identity has not been released, was critically wounded.

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Osumi and Lopez are charged with murder, while Farris is accused of being an accessory after the fact. All three are alleged members of the Sotel gang from West L.A. while the victims are believed to be members of the Santa Monica 13 gang. Both gangs have been waging a turf war against each other for decades.


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