Man to stand trial in slaying
A man accused of fatally shooting a 59-year-old man and leaving his body on the side of a road in a sparsely populated area south of Rancho San Diego was ordered Friday to stand trial on charges including murder.
The ruling came at the end of a preliminary hearing for Adrian Carranza, 44, who was also charged with conspiracy to commit murder in the death of Ronald McKinney.
If convicted of all charges, including gun and drug offenses, Carranza could face 60 years to life in prison.
His attorney did not immediately respond to requests for comment after Judge John Thompson’s ruling.
Prosecutors say an acquaintance instructed Carranza to kill McKinney because she believed McKinney and his business partner stole drugs from her.
On Wednesday, before the hearing began, Brandyce Marquez, 33, who prosecutors said was the acquaintance, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and other charges in the case. She is expected to be sentenced Sept. 11 to 24 years in state prison.
Authorities say hikers found McKinney’s body along an embankment on the side of Millar Ranch Road around 7 a.m. Jan. 23, 2022. He had suffered a gunshot wound to the lower, left side of his abdomen.
Investigators found nine 9mm cartridge cases at the scene.
A detective said investigators learned that a vehicle McKinned had driven was towed from Marquez’s apartment building the morning his body was found. It turned out Marquez was the subject of an East County gangs task force that involved an informant.
The paid informant helped build the case against Marquez and Carranza.
The informant testified Wednesday that a day or so after the killing, Carranza showed off a new gun and claimed he got rid of a firearm he previously carried — a 9 mm gun — because he had shot someone with it.
The informant, referred to in court only by a nickname, also said Marquez told him she had given Carranza a gun to shoot McKinney. Both McKinney and Carranza said the gun malfunctioned, so Carranza used his 9mm gun.
Investigators learned McKinney went over to Marquez’s home the night before his body was found. A man who identified as Marquez’s friend testified that she, her boyfriend and Carranza talked to McKinney for 20 to 30 minutes in Marquez’s room.
The witness testified that at one point Marquez asked, “Why would you do that to me?” Eventually, the witness said, McKinney, Carranza and Marquez’s boyfriend left the apartment.
McKinney’s body was found hours later.