Mission Valley fatal shooting
San Diego Superior Court Judge Steven Stone ordered Kevin Larin, 30, to be tried on charges of murder and assault with a firearm.
A man who is accused of gunning down a co-worker inside a Mission Valley hotel was ordered to stand trial.
The incident took place on March 3 at the Handlery Hotel when Kevin Casey Larin, 30, of Northridge, allegedly opened fire upon Damian Martinez, 19, who died, and Bailey Lorenzano, 23, who was wounded in his arm.
The trio was on a business trip to San Diego from the Northridge area, and the shooting followed some type of dispute between them.
According to testimony in a preliminary hearing, the shooting occurred several hours after the group purchased alcohol.
San Diego Superior Court Judge Steven Stone ordered Larin to be tried on charges of murder and assault with a firearm.
Larin will next appear in court on Dec. 3 to schedule a trial date in 2026. He has pleaded not guilty and remains in the South Bay Detention Facility without bail.
In a stipulated agreement between Deputy District Attorney Jessica Coto and defense attorney Samantha Green, Jr., a criminalist found gunshot residue on Larin’s hand.
A 9 mm Glock handgun found in Larin’s vehicle was the murder weapon, authorities said.
Detective Alex Pockett testified that the receipts for the alcohol purchases were found in the trio’s hotel room on Hotel Circle North.
Martinez was found mortally wounded in an interior hallway at the hotel.
Pockett said the handgun was unserialized, and photos were shown of it. It was not registered to Larin, he said, and he added that Larin was registered to possess another firearm at his home.
Larin was “cooperative and respectful” during his interview, said the detective, and he found no signs of him being intoxicated. He was calm with no slurred speech, he added.
Family members of both victims and Larin’s family attended the hearing.
Security camera footage outside the liquor store and other areas of Mission Valley was shown in court.
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