BAKERSFIELD, Calif.(KBAK/KBFX) — Three 18-year-old suspects accused of shooting 38-year-old Mario Cortez Flores at Beale Park on March 13 pleaded not guilty this week, according to Kern County court records. Flores later died at Kern Medical.
Brayden Ari Mendez, Joshua Ronald Holguin, and Alexa Marmolejo pleaded not guilty to murder and robbery on Tuesday, March 17, court records show.
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On March 13, at around 11:33 p.m., officers responded to Beale Park for ShotSpotter activation in the area. They found Flores with a gunshot wound. He was taken to Kern Medical in critical condition.
Minutes later, officers said they saw a blacked-out vehicle fleeing the area. When officers pulled over the vehicle, Mendez, Holguin, and Marmolejo were found in the vehicle. A weapon was recovered.
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The suspects were arrested the next day.
The Bakerfield Police Department said that Flores died on Monday, March 16; however, according to the Kern County Coroner’s Office, the report said Flores died at Kern Medical on Sunday, March 15.
Mendez, Holguin, and Marmolejo are due back in court on March 27, 2026.