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Andrade (January 9, 2013) |
The man arrested in connection with the fatal stabbing of 17-year-old Brawley Union High School student Martin Alberto Garza has been charged with first-degree premeditated murder.
Heber resident and El Centro gang member Martin Gabriel Andrade, 19, was arraigned in Imperial County jail court Wednesday.
Prosecutors are seeking a gang enhancement for the promotion and further assistance of a criminal street gang, Imperial County Senior Deputy District Attorney Deborah Owen. Andrade is also charged with a prior strike. He was previously convicted of assault with a deadly weapon.
Officials have given few details about the events that led up to Martin Garza’s death. He was at a party in El Centro late Saturday night, and there was an altercation.
Officers with the El Centro Police Department responded to reports of a stabbing near Seventh Street and Commercial Avenue, and found the victim, whom they declined to identify, in an alley near Commercial Avenue with three stab wounds. He was transported to an area hospital but did not survive his injuries. The cause of death, according to the Sheriff’s Deputy Coroner Steven Green, is a stab wound to the heart.
According to standard procedure, a plea of not guilty was entered on Andrade’s behalf by Superior Court Judge Poli Flores, and Andrade was appointed a public defender to represent him.
Andrade is being held on $1 million bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 22.
Staff Writer Antoine Abou-Diwan can be reached at 760-337-3454 or aabou@ivpressonline.com
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