Vargas’ mother calls son’s charges ‘bogus’
LAX COURTHOUSE — A Santa Monica teenager charged with the murder of Jalonnie Carter pleaded not guilty in court Friday.
Several family members and friends showed up at the Los Angeles Superior Court Airport Courthouse on Friday for the arraignment of Matthew Felix Vargas, 17, following his arrest by the Santa Monica Police on Thursday.
The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office charged Vargas with first-degree murder; one count of personal use of a firearm causing bodily injury; two counts of the intentional discharge of a firearm and one count of gang enhancement that contributed to the furtherance of gang activity.
Vargas, who authorities say is also known as “Lil Rooster” among gang members, was picked up on Thursday by SMPD detectives at a juvenile detention facility in Sylmar, where he is serving time for an unknown crime. Because he’s a minor, authorities couldn’t discuss for what crime Vargas was being detained.
Vargas’ mother, Belinda Ramos, also declined to say what her son was convicted of, except to say he is innocent. He has been detained since December.
“It’s a bogus charge,” Ramos said. Vargas was booked on Thursday into Santa Monica Jail on $2 million bail, according to SMPD Chief James T. Butts Jr.
The DA’s office said because of the evidence prosecutors have to support their case, Vargas is being tried as an adult, which makes his identity available to the public.
“Generally, the law allows us to (charge him as an adult), especially if we believe the person was the actual killer,” said DA spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons.
On Thursday, Butts said that SMPD detectives have recovered the murder weapon, but declined to provide further information on what other evidence will be brought against Vargas.
Relatives and friends of Vargas showed up at court on Friday visibly distraught by the lack of information they had about the arrest. Ramos, a member of Mothers for Justice — a group based in the Pico neighborhood with the mission of ending unfair discipline treatment and racial profiling in the local school district — said she found out about her son’s arrest and arraignment through a newspaper article she read.
“I was at Ray’s Restaurant, reading the newspaper when I saw my son’s name,” Ramos said. “You have no idea how it feels to have to find out about a charge like this in the news.”
Ramos said she would have felt more confident going into Friday’s proceedings if she had received a phone call from authorities — or from her son — prior to his arraignment. Instead, she said she had to make several phone calls to confirm that her son was charged with murder.
“Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty?” Ramos said. “I’m his mother. I should have known about his arrest. He’s 17.”
SMPD Lt. Frank Fabrega said detectives picked up Vargas, booked him at the Santa Monica Jail and returned him to the juvenile detention facility.
“The notification was made with the county probation department,” he said.
Vargas was represented by public defender Sandra Stillwater on Friday. He showed up to court in an orange jumpsuit, appearing clean, well-groomed and calm.
Stillwater made the no guilty plea for Vargas on all counts. She also requested the arraignment be continued to Monday, April 11, allowing time for Vargas’ family to secure a private attorney who may review the case, which Judge Paula A. Mabrey accepted.
Following Stillwater’s request, Judge Mabrey also directed Vargas be allowed phone communication according to county guidelines and that a family friend, pastor Mark A. Garcia, be granted visitation rights.
Vargas, who is Hispanic and lives in the Pico neighborhood, is allegedly a member of the Santa Monica 17th Street Gang, Butts said. The 17th Street gang is frequently at odds with the city’s other gang, the Graveyard Crips. One gang is black, the other Latino. The Pico neighborhood is located on the eastside of Santa Monica.
Ramos lashed out at the press and authorities on Friday for characterizing her son as a gang member, which she said he is not.
“If the other gangs thinks he’s in a gang, it’s going to put my son in jeopardy,” Ramos said. “My son did not commit this murder. This is a wrongful arrest and it’s wrong to put his name in the paper...
“He is a Latino and he has a right to be brown,” she added. “Just because he’s brown doesn’t mean he’s in a gang. This whole thing is wrong.”
“He is a Latino and he has a right to be brown,”
“Just because he’s brown doesn’t mean he’s in a gang. This whole thing is wrong.” — she added. — BELINDA RAMOS Mother
Carter, 19, was shot in the back with a.22-caliber gun in the 1800 block of 20th Street, while he was walking through an alley on Sept. 2, 2003. The bullet pierced his heart and he died a few hours later at a local hospital.
Shortly after, police arrested a neighbor in connection with the murder, but the DA’s office dropped the charges due to a lack of evidence.
Carter, who authorities said was known by friends and family as “Little Bear” and “Pooh Bear,” was described as a hard-working young man who was studying for a career in computers while working two jobs. He is buried at the Woodlawn Cemetery, located in the Pico neighborhood.
Vargas is described by family and friends as respectful and mild-mannered.
Sources said, as a youth, Vargas used to frequent the Pico Youth & Family Center, a City Hall-funded nonprofit organization intended to promote peace, unity and social justice in the troubled neighborhood. The center is designed to serve as a place of empowerment and education for young men and women.
“This is killing me,” Ramos said, waiting for her son to appear in court.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 9, 2005. Read the original PDF.