Judge denies further delays in Brawley murder case

IMPERIAL COUNTY, Calif. (KYMA) - Two suspects charged in connection with a fatal shooting in Brawley returned to the Imperial County Superior Court Wednesday for a pre-trial hearing.

Genaro Lemus, 23, and Matthew Nathan Garnica, 25, face murder charges in the February shooting death of 43-year-old Steven Angulo.

Wednesday's hearing marked the second time the co-defendants have appeared in court together.

Presiding Judge Marco D. Nunez expressed intense frustration over the pace of the proceedings, noting that the case has stalled significantly while waiting for critical evidence.

"There's no more continuances that need to go," Judge Nunez said during the hearing. "This case is 260 days old and they have a right to have a prelim within ten court days after the case is filed, and here we are 260 days later...no prelim."

Defense attorneys stated they are still reviewing discovery files and are waiting on an official autopsy report.

However, Judge Nunez insisted that the preliminary hearing must move forward regardless of state administrative delays.

"It occurs to me...that at some point this case needs to go to prelim because sometimes these autopsy reports are not generated for months and months, if not years, so you know, we'll need to set it up for prelim," Nunez added.

Both Lemus and Garnica have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.

The suspects are scheduled to return to court in October, where the preliminary hearing is expected to officially be set.