Man Pleads Not Guilty To Murder In Grantville Shooting That Killed 2

SAN DIEGO, CA — A man accused of taking part in a gang-related shooting that fatally wounded two men last week at a Grantville-area apartment complex pleaded not guilty Thursday to murder charges.

Charles Patrick Burke Jr., 31, was arrested Tuesday afternoon in connection with the deadly gunfire that broke out March 1 near the pool area of an Alvarado Canyon Road complex.

The shooting left San Diego resident Joseph Taylor, 31, dead, as well as 24-year-old Lavion Estridge, who worked as a security guard at the complex, according to San Diego police.

Deputy District Attorney John Dunlap said Thursday that Burke fired at one of the victims, but is being charged with both men's slayings because "he's accountable for both murders."

The prosecutor said Burke and other suspected gang members were having a party at the apartment complex when a rival gang member showed up.

Dunlap said the rival was confronted and attacked by a group of people, which included Burke.

At some point, Burke and another person allegedly pulled out guns and began firing.

The rival gang member pulled out his own gun and fatally shot one of his attackers, though Dunlap said that victim was not one of the people who opened fire. The rival gang member was himself shot and later died.

Dunlap declined to specify which victim was Taylor and which was Estridge.

The prosecutor said Burke is "responsible for the deaths of both individuals, not only by his provocative acts in engaging in gang violence in this apartment complex, but also being an aider and abetter to those murders."

Burke remains in custody without bail.

— City News Service