David Garcia, accused shooter in Halloween deaths of 2 teens, pleads not guilty

An 18-year-old man accused of gunning down two teenage boys at a Chula Vista house party pleaded not guilty Wednesday to two counts of murder.

David Garcia is accused of opening fire on Kane Roldan, 15, and Elias Yanez, 17, at a Halloween party attended by more than 100 people. Police responded to the East Prospect Street home just after 11 p.m. to find both boys with gunshot wounds. The teens later died at a hospital.

Garcia was arrested Monday near his home in National City, police said.

Along with the murder counts, he faces a charge of negligently discharging a firearm for allegedly shooting into the air some time before the teens were shot. He also faces a special circumstance allegation of committing multiple murders.

If he is convicted of the murder counts, plus the special circumstance allegation, he would face life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty, should prosecutors pursue capital punishment.

At Garcia’s arraignment, Deputy District Attorney Jack Yeh said Garcia showed multiple people at the party that he had a gun tucked into his waistband.

Prior to the fatal shooting, the prosecutor said Garcia got into an altercation with someone, then fired the gun into the air to scare the person away.

Later, Garcia allegedly got into an fight with a friend of the victims. When the boys attempted to aid their friend, Garcia shot them both, Yeh said.

Garcia remains in custody without bail.

Family members of Roldan, of San Diego, and Yanez, of Imperial Beach, have created GoFundMe pages to assist with funeral costs and support their loved ones. 

According to the fundraising pages, Roldan’s memorial will be on Nov. 24, while plans for Yanez’s service are pending.