BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — A trial date of March 23 was set Monday for Sonny Veleta, who was 16 when arrested in the shooting death of a man in East Bakersfield more than four years ago.
Veleta is charged with murder, attempted robbery and other crimes in the shooting that killed 19-year-old Cesar Joseph Malta.
His case was transferred to adult court — where he faces a life term in prison if convicted.
On the night of Aug. 12, 2021, Malta and a passenger drove to East Bakersfield to deliver a baggie of marijuana to someone named “Sonny,” according to testimony at an earlier hearing.
When they arrived at the meeting location, they saw a Hispanic male, about 5-foot-10, wearing a hoodie, the passenger later told police.
He said they pulled up and Malta rolled down his window and held out the baggie.
The person in the hoodie drew a gun, the passenger said. He fired a single shot as Malta started driving away.
The passenger said he helped steer as Malta, wounded, began losing consciousness. They stopped at the intersection of Baker and Oregon streets, where the passenger called 911.
Veleta was linked to a Snapchat account Malta had been communicating with just before the shooting, police said. The passenger identified Veleta as the gunman in a photo lineup.
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