Second man pleads not guilty to murder in Midway robbery attempt and shooting

One of two young men accused in a fatal shooting during a botched robbery attempt in the Midway area pleaded not guilty Dec. 21 to seven felony counts, including murder, attempted murder and attempted robbery.

Armando Silvestre Alvarado, 19, is accused along with co-defendant Angel Garcia, 18, in the Nov. 25 shooting death of Eduardo Salguero, 18, of San Diego.

Garcia was arrested Dec. 2 and has pleaded not guilty to the same counts as Alvarado, who was arrested Dec. 12.

According to prosecutors, Salguero arranged to make a purchase via the Snapchat app and met with the supposed sellers in a parking lot behind the Vons supermarket in a shopping center on Midway Drive.

At about 6 p.m., Salguero and another victim arrived in a car, at which point two men entered the vehicle and demanded money at gunpoint, according to Deputy District Attorney Miriam Hemming.

Salguero was shot in the back and his acquaintance ran from the car and was shot at while fleeing, she said. The bullet missed the second victim and struck the supermarket, Hemming said.

The car ended up crashing into a retaining wall on the access road behind the shopping center. Salguero, who was found behind the wheel of the crashed car, was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Investigators have not disclosed what led them to identify Alvarado and Garcia as suspects.

The criminal complaint charging both men with murder in the Nov. 25 shooting also charges Garcia in a separate armed robbery that authorities said occurred a few weeks before Salguero’s slaying. In the earlier case, a victim’s
wallet, cellphone and other belongings were taken at gunpoint, Hemming said.

Garcia’s bail was set at $3 million, Alvarado’s at $2 million. Their next court date is a readiness conference scheduled for Jan. 28.