Two Plead Not Guilty In Murder Of Grandfather In Long Beach

LONG BEACH, CA – Two young men accused in a drive-by shooting last October that left a 69-year-old grandfather dead pleaded not guilty Wednesday to murder and other charges.

Rhyan Burrell, 20, of Lynwood, and Terrel Warren, 23, of Long Beach, are charged in the Oct. 9 slaying of Jose Corrales, who was killed as he watered his lawn in the 1900 block of Canal Avenue, near Pacific Coast Highway.

The murder charge includes the special circumstance allegations of murder while lying in wait, murder to further the activities of a criminal street gang and murder by discharging a firearm from a motor vehicle, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, which has yet to decide whether to seek the death penalty against the two.

Burrell and Warren are also facing one count each of shooting at an occupied motor vehicle and unlawful firearm activity, six counts each of attempted murder and gang allegations, and Warren is additionally facing an allegation that he personally and intentionally discharged a handgun.

Corrales -- who was shot at least once in the upper body -- was pronounced dead at the scene.

The victim was outside his residence "with a group of male subjects when (someone in) a light-colored sedan containing three to four subjects opened fire," according to a police statement. Detectives subsequently learned another man in a nearby vehicle was also struck by gunfire and took himself to a hospital.

Burrell and Warren were arrested last Nov. 2 by Long Beach police, who said detectives determined the murder was gang-motivated and "may be correlated to an altercation which occurred earlier that afternoon at Cabrillo High School."

Three firearms and ammunition were recovered during the warrant search and were submitted to the Long Beach Police Department's crime lab for forensic analysis. A vehicle believed to have been involved in the case was impounded.

Burrell and Warren are due back in a Long Beach courtroom Feb. 18, when a date is scheduled to be set for a hearing to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to allow the case against them to proceed to trial. They remain jailed without bail.

City News Service; Image via Shutterstock