'Not Guilty' Pleas In West Covina Firefighter's Killing

WEST COVINA, CA — A La Verne man, and his San Gabriel associate, both accused of killing a 28-year-old part-time firefighter whose burned body was found in Upland, pleaded not guilty Thursday to a capital murder charge.

Elijah Thomas Rouse, 18, of La Verne, and Shaun Cardarelli, 37, of San Gabriel, are charged with the slaying of West Covina firefighter John Brian Mananghaya Aguila. The murder charge includes the special circumstance allegation of murder during the commission of a robbery, along with an allegation that both defendants used a knife in the commission of the crime.

Prosecutors will decide later whether to seek the death penalty against the two, who are also charged with conspiracy to commit arson.

Co-defendant Davone Anthony Smith, 26, is also facing the conspiracy charge, along with a felony count of being an accessory after the fact.

According to the criminal complaint, Aguila was killed in an apartment and his body—which had been wrapped in a blanket and cellophane and bound with duct tape— was moved to his 2017 Honda Civic, driven to San Bernardino County and dumped off the road in Upland, where gasoline was poured on his upper body and ignited.

West Covina police found gloves and bloody clothes in the trunk of the firefighter's car, which was discovered Aug. 22 in San Dimas, where it had been impounded.

West Covina police Cpl. Rudy Lopez said investigators "located video surveillance that showed a male leaving from the car and walking away from it. It was determined that this subject was not the missing person."

Aguila had been reported missing the same day when he did not show up for work— he was a part-time Bureau of Land Management firefighter— or return home, behavior his family described as uncharacteristic.

Rouse and Cardarelli were arrested Aug. 27 by West Covina police, while Smith was taken into custody a day later.

City News Service, Patch Editor Ashley Ludwig contributed to this report.