Hearing postponed in shooting death

Preliminary date pushed back for Newhall woman accused of San Fernando Valley murder in March

A Newhall woman charged with murdering her boyfriend in a shooting at the parking lot of a Canoga Park bar appeared briefly in court Friday.

Reyanna Villarreal, 25, arrived at Los Angeles County Superior Court in San Fernando, to set a date for her preliminary hearing. Instead, she was ordered to return to court in a month when the prelim date could be set then.

“The preliminary hearing setting for Reyanna Villarreal was continued to June 18,” Paul Eakes, spokesman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said.

During a preliminary hearing, prosecutors will present evidence in the case, and the defense can respond; the judge can then decide if the case should go to trial.

Villarreal is charged with one count of murder with allegations she used a handgun and caused great bodily injury and death, accused of killing Jose Mendoza, 21, in a parking lot near a bar on the 22000 block of Roscoe Boulevard on March 5, Deputy District Attorney Julie Kramer said last month.

Villarreal has pleaded not guilty to the charges. She remains in custody with bail set at $3 million.

She faces a possible maximum sentence of 40 years to life in state prison if convicted as charged.

The case remains under investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department.