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A judge scheduled preliminary hearings today for three people suspected of killing a young Glendale girl in a drive-by shooting.
Seven-year-old Maria Menchaca was killed while she was playing in her front yard in July.
Four people were in the car involved in the drive by: the shooter, the driver and two female passengers Prosecutors didn't charge one of those females.
#mae_mug
Now family members of the accused girl are asking why she wasn't let off too. Mae Johnson had just turned 16. Her family says she got a ride to the store with neighbors. That ride turned into a deadly drive-by shooting.
Wynema Noriega, Johnson's mother, said, "She was there at the wrong time, at the wrong place. She was just trying to get a simple ride. I don't understand why nobody can understand that."
Prosecutors say Johnson helped load the gun that killed 7-year-old Maria Menchaca, and that's why she's charged with murder.
But her defense attorney, Clayton Simms, says she had nothing to do with the crime. "Did she fire the gun? No, absolutely not. So there's no question she didn't fire the gun. She was in the car, but another individual was in the car and didn't get charged."
Noriega said, "The other girl was white. Why did she get to go free when she was there too?" Johnson is Native American and thinks her skin color is why she's in custody and the other passenger is not.
The suspected shooter, Gabriel Alvarez and the driver Frank Benavidez are both charged with aggravated homicide.
The District Attorney's Office wants to send a message: These types of crimes won't be tolerated. Rob Neill of the District Attorney's Office said, "You couldn't imagine such an innocent victim, a child playing in her front yard. So it's very emotionally charged."
Emotional yes, but racially charged? Neill said, "Absolutely not! When we screen these cases, we look at acts, not anything of that nature. So that's absolutely false."
Their hearings are scheduled for Feb. 10, 11 and 12.
Menchaca's family was present today, but they didn't have any comment.
E-mail: ngonzales @ksl.com
