Home » Santa Clarita News » Sheriff News » Santa Clarita Valley Murder Suspect Has Trial Delayed

Santa Clarita Valley Murder Suspect Has Trial Delayed

The trial for one of two Santa Clarita murders in 2013 was delayed to September for scheduling purposes, officials said Tuesday.


Don’t miss a thing. Get breaking Santa Clarita news alerts delivered right to your inbox.


The trial of Juan Mejia, 31, of Canyon Country, is expected to resume Sept. 2, when the lone suspect, Mejia, is scheduled for a preliminary hearing.

At a preliminary hearing, the evidence is presented to a judge who decides if there’s enough to merit a trial.

From a previous story:

Related: Canyon Country Suspect In Santa Clarita Murder Due Back In March

At approximately 11:47 p.m. on May 16, 2013, he produced a gun and shot his father — who’s also named Juan Mejia — in the head, according to a Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau detective.Santa Clarita Valley murder suspect

The shooting took place at the 19000 block of Newhouse Street in Canyon Country, at the elder Mejia’s residence.

The son allegedly fled the scene shortly after his father was shot. It was the first shooting death in Canyon Country last year.

In the second and only other murder case, Lance Holger Anderson, 61, of Canyon Country, is accused of shooting his wife, 68-year-old Bertha Maxine Anderson.

Bertha Anderson was found shot in the head where the two reportedly lived together at the 26800 block of Claudette Street on Dec. 11.

Related: Santa Clarita Man Pleads Not Guilty To Canyon Country Double Murder

The other victim of Anderson’s alleged double murder, Anderson’s sister, Lisa Nave, was found dead around 9: 20 a.m., at a convalescent home where Nave lived.

Anderson was arrested in December by LAPD officers following the discovery what appeared to be the mercy killing of Anderson’s sister at the Mission Hills nursing home, according to police.

In Mejia’s case, Homicide Bureau detectives worked with Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station detectives to find the younger Juan Mejia.

After a special bulletin was put out by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Mejia was found a week after the shooting.

The public’s help was part of the reason why deputies were able to find and detain their suspect for questioning, according to a sergeant with the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station.

Detectives believe the suspect arrived home intoxicated and began to argue with his parents at their home.

Mejia first answered the charges in May, when he pleaded not guilty to first degree murder.

Mejia is being held in lieu of $2,055,000 bail at the Pitchess Detention Center.

 


Do you have a news tip? Call us at (661) 298-1220, or drop us a line at community@hometownstation.com.



[node:title]KHTS AM 1220 - Santa Clarita News - Santa Clarita Radio


Article: [node:title]
Source: Santa Clarita News
Author: [node:author]


Santa Clarita Valley Murder Suspect Has Trial Delayed

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

About Perry Smith

Perry Smith is a print and broadcast journalist who has won several awards for his focused, hyperlocal community coverage in several different regions of the country. In addition to five years of experience covering the Santa Clarita Valley, Smith, a San Fernando Valley native, has worked in newspapers and news websites in Los Angeles, the Northwest, the Central Valley and the South, before coming to KHTS in 2012. To contact Smith, email him at Perry@hometownstation.com.