A man accused in a botched home-invasion robbery in which a Chula Vista homeowner was killed more than 14 years ago was ordered Tuesday to stand trial for murder.
Joe Mora, 34, was arrested last September in connection with the Nov. 28, 1999, shooting death of Sergio Morales, 54.
Mora’s former girlfriend, Alicia Ayala, testified during a two-day preliminary hearing that Mora came home shaken nearly two years ago after being questioned about the crime by Chula Vista police detectives as he met with his parole officer.
Ayala said Mora returned to their Lancaster home, snuggled next to her and their child in an upstairs bedroom and said, “I thought I’d never see you guys again.”
The woman said Mora got close to her and whispered, “It was a home-invasion robbery that went wrong. He just kept coming at me.”
Mora told Ayala that a man and a woman were with him at the crime scene, the witness said. Ayala said she called authorities about nine months later and told them what Mora had told her.
According to Deputy District Attorney Andrea Freshwater, the defendant came home upset because the officers had told him that a beanie found at the crime scene allegedly had his DNA on it.
Authorities allege that on the evening in question, Mora and a female companion showed up at Sergio Morales’ Paseo Burga residence and tried in vain to talk their way inside. When Morales attempted to shut his front door, a struggle ensued and victim was beaten and fatally shot, police said.
No suspect in the case was identified until 2009, when DNA evidence on the beanie left at the crime scene allegedly linked Mora to the killing.
Judge Francis Devaney ruled that enough evidence was presented at Mora’s preliminary hearing for him to proceed to trial. A Superior Court arraignment is scheduled for May 27.
– City News Service
