Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Family Loyalties Divided After Shooting

Testimony today suggested that two sisters who ear-witnessed a shooting last April now have a strained relationship, because one sister continues her romantic connection with a man charged as “accessory after the fact” in the killing of a third sister.

Ruben Anthony Cepeda, 21, was in court today, accused of murder in the death of Viri Rodriguez, 18. The prosecutor alleges that Cepeda put a gun to the belly of his pregnant girlfriend and killed both her and her four-month-old fetus with a single 9mm shot, in an Escondido apartment.

Older sister Diana Rodriguez, 27, testified today that she dated the alleged “accessory” Jesse Juan Lopez, 22, for more than a year and “Yes, he’s still my boyfriend.”

Jesse Lopez allegedly assisted the shooter by helping him to flee, driving him to the Mexican-American border immediately after the shooting, about 7:24 p.m. April 7, 2012.

Ruben Cepeda and friend Jesse Lopez were reportedly moving into the 2-bedroom apartment all that day, and it was after 7 p.m. when Cepeda and his girlfriend were together in one room while others were elsewhere in the apartment. “And then we just hear a loud noise,” Diana Rodriguez said. She said she rushed into the room and saw Cepeda and her sister Viri standing “face to face,” and then Cepeda lay his wounded girlfriend onto the floor. “I saw her getting paler,” Diana testified. She said Viri tried to speak, but was unable.

The other sister who was at the apartment, named Yemely, testified at a prior hearing for Jesse Lopez. Both sisters have said they heard Cepeda say it was an accident, and apologize to Viri for shooting her.

Yemely said she saw Jesse Lopez take off his shirt and use it to pick up a black handgun that was lying on the floor, before the two men fled in a truck driven by Lopez, according to prosecutor Keith Watanabe.

Diana Rodriguez said her relationship with her sister Yemely is “not that good” now.

Judge Harry Elias ordered Ruben Anthony Cepeda to answer two murder charges plus special gun allegations at the end of the preliminary hearing today, June 26 2012.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jun/26/26908/

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Escondido planners nix office building switch to apartments

Not enough open space, not enough closets for Hickory Street plans
Next Article

Ramona musicians seek solution for outdoor playing at wineries

Ambient artists aren’t trying to put AC/DC in anyone’s backyard

Testimony today suggested that two sisters who ear-witnessed a shooting last April now have a strained relationship, because one sister continues her romantic connection with a man charged as “accessory after the fact” in the killing of a third sister.

Ruben Anthony Cepeda, 21, was in court today, accused of murder in the death of Viri Rodriguez, 18. The prosecutor alleges that Cepeda put a gun to the belly of his pregnant girlfriend and killed both her and her four-month-old fetus with a single 9mm shot, in an Escondido apartment.

Older sister Diana Rodriguez, 27, testified today that she dated the alleged “accessory” Jesse Juan Lopez, 22, for more than a year and “Yes, he’s still my boyfriend.”

Jesse Lopez allegedly assisted the shooter by helping him to flee, driving him to the Mexican-American border immediately after the shooting, about 7:24 p.m. April 7, 2012.

Ruben Cepeda and friend Jesse Lopez were reportedly moving into the 2-bedroom apartment all that day, and it was after 7 p.m. when Cepeda and his girlfriend were together in one room while others were elsewhere in the apartment. “And then we just hear a loud noise,” Diana Rodriguez said. She said she rushed into the room and saw Cepeda and her sister Viri standing “face to face,” and then Cepeda lay his wounded girlfriend onto the floor. “I saw her getting paler,” Diana testified. She said Viri tried to speak, but was unable.

The other sister who was at the apartment, named Yemely, testified at a prior hearing for Jesse Lopez. Both sisters have said they heard Cepeda say it was an accident, and apologize to Viri for shooting her.

Yemely said she saw Jesse Lopez take off his shirt and use it to pick up a black handgun that was lying on the floor, before the two men fled in a truck driven by Lopez, according to prosecutor Keith Watanabe.

Diana Rodriguez said her relationship with her sister Yemely is “not that good” now.

Judge Harry Elias ordered Ruben Anthony Cepeda to answer two murder charges plus special gun allegations at the end of the preliminary hearing today, June 26 2012.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jun/26/26908/

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Oceanside man charged with shooting death of neighbor

Next Article

Escondido man guilty of double-murder for shooting pregnant girlfriend

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader