Church’s Chicken shooting suspect pleads not guilty

The suspected gunman in the Church’s Chicken shooting that killed one worker and wounded two others in Otay Mesa pleaded not guilty Tuesday to one count of murder and two counts of attempted murder.

Albert Lee Blake, 49, is accused of slaying Maribel Merino Ibañez, 28, and wounding restaurant trainee Mario Rojas and employee Humberto Cota inside the restaurant on Nov. 6.

Authorities said Ibañez, working at the cash register, refused to accept a $100 bill from a customer. A prosecutor said in court that the customer — whom she identified as Blake — left, returned in 10 minutes with a gun and “without saying a word,” shot the three workers and calmly walked out to a car and drove away.

He was arrested in Memphis, Tenn. on Friday and extradited to San Diego.

Ibañez’s mother, Emma Merino, and other family members attended Blake’s arraignment in Chula Vista Superior Court. After the hearing, Merino talked about how the family is suffering.

“A lot of families have been hurt,” Merino said. “No one’s going to bring back my daughter. I am suffering for something we don’t deserve.”

Ramon Mendoza, the husband of Maribel Ibañez, 28, who was killed when a gunman opened fire in the Church’s Chicken in Otay Mesa, Wednesday night, holds a cellphone photo showing their wedding day, on March 12th of this year.

(Howard Lipin/The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Judge Keri Katz called Blake an “extreme danger” to the public and a flight risk because he had gone to Tennessee after the shooting. The judge agreed to a prosecutor’s request to set Blake’s bail at $5 million.

Blake faces 114 years to life in prison if convicted of all charges and allegations that he used a gun and that the attempted murders were premeditated. He will not face the death penalty, Deputy District Attorney Jalyn Wang said after the hearing.

She said Blake is a “self-proclaimed” gang member, but there are no allegations that the shooting was the result of gang violence.

Blake has an extensive criminal history dating back to 1989, including misdemeanor DUI and domestic violence cases and felony convictions for burglary, possession of stolen goods and drugs. He was on probation until last month for being a felon in possession of a gun, Wang said.

The prosecutor said Rojas was shot in his arm and shoulder and Cota at the drive-through window was shot through his back. Wang said one of the men remains in the hospital, but she would not specify which one.

An employee told The San Diego Union-Tribune that Ibañez was shot first, then the two men, and then the gunman shot Ibañez again as she lay on the floor. All three were taken to hospitals and Ibañez died a short time later.

Ibañez and Ramón Mendoza had been married since March. She had worked at the same Church’s restaurant on Del Sol Boulevard for about a decade.

Merino described her daughter as a lovely person who had many friends. She said as she sat in the courtroom, she thought about her daughter and “how he killed her,” thoughts that left her feeling “angry” and “mad.”

“I thank God that he (Blake) is already here” to face charges, Merino said. “Now she’s in heaven. I have to live with it all my life until I die.”

While at least one witness to the shooting said the gunman had tried to pass a counterfeit $100 bill, a co-worker said that Ibañez simply wasn’t allowed to accept such a large denomination.

The prosecutor declined to give details on how San Diego police homicide investigators identified Blake as a suspect in the case, how they knew he had left California, or his ties to Tennessee. The U.S. Marshals Service said Blake had been arrested at a Memphis home.

Blake’s next court date is Dec. 19. A preliminary hearing to determine whether there is enough evidence against him to hold him for trial is set for Feb. 25.