CA Supreme Court Will Not Hear Case Of NoHo Clerk's Killing

NORTH HOLLYWOOD, CA — The California Supreme Court will not hear the case of two Los Angeles women convicted of murder in the shooting death of a liquor store clerk during an attempted robbery in North Hollywood.

Rosa Manuela Barrientos and Maria Michelle Inzunza were found guilty in August 2018 of first-degree murder and attempted robbery charges related to the killing of Mohammed Kalam, who was shot in the head at A&D Liquor Mart on September 24, 2016.

The ruling was previously upheld by an appeals court in June, who said there was a "mountain of evidence," including surveillance footage and fingerprints on a note the two handed to the clerk, that pointed to their guilt.

Surveillance footage obtained by LAPD showed Inzunza slid the demand note to Kalam, which threatened that they would kill him if he didn't turn over money. Kalam, however, slid the note back to them.

After some unknown dialogue, prosecutors said Barrientos took the gun from her purse and shot Kalam once in the head. Inzunza then attempted to open the register but failed, and the two left the store empty handed.

Barrientos and Inzunza were arrested by the Los Angeles Police Department three days after the shooting, and sentenced in August 2019 to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Customers and neighboring business operators said Kalam, a native of Bangladesh, had worked the late shift at the liquor store for many years.

City News Service contributed to this report.