Updated at 5:10 p.m. May 1, 2015
An 18-year-old man accused of fatally stabbing a co-worker at the victim’s South Bay home last week pleaded not guilty Friday to a murder charge.
Joe Andrew Cortez, who was ordered held on $2 million bail, faces 26 years to life in prison if convicted in the death of 44-year-old Rene Pressa, according to Deputy District Attorney Victor Ou.
Cortez allegedly killed Pressa, a 44-year-old restaurant employee, early on April 23, according to Chula Vista police. The defendant intended to spend the night at Pressa’s residence in a mixed-use office building at 45 Third Ave., but at some point the two men began fighting.
Cortez was apparently injured during the altercation and left a blood trail leading away from Pressa’s apartment, Chula Vista police Lt. Fritz Reber said.
The suspect was believed to have walked, barefoot and clad in shorts and a black tank top, to the U.S.-Mexico border before crossing into Baja California and returning home, the lieutenant said.
Police and U.S. Marshals Service personnel initially coordinated with Mexican authorities to arrest Cortez at his parents’ home in Tijuana, but he had fled by the time officers arrived.
Cortez turned himself in Thursday at the San Ysidro port of entry, Reber said.
The defendant will be back in court Aug. 8 for a readiness conference and Aug. 26 for a preliminary hearing.
— City News Service
