HOUSTON – A pregnant teenager served as the getaway driver after a fatal shooting earlier this month at a west Houston restaurant, according to prosecutors.
Elida Lucia Jovel Medrano, 17, was charged with first-degree murder in connection with the Aug. 4 shooting at the La Union restaurant at the corner of Wilcrest Drive and Bissonnet Street.
VIDEO: Medrano appears in court for hearing
Investigators said that Johnny Paramo Torres, 25, died after being shot in the face during a fight with a group of men that eventually spilled into the parking lot.
Medrano, an El Salvador national who is five months pregnant, appeared in court Tuesday, where prosecutors outlined their case against her.
According to prosecutors, Medrano is believed to be driving the vehicle seen in surveillance video moments before and after the shooting. She was arrested after police, who were watching her house, saw her getting into a car with luggage in an attempt to flee, prosecutors said.
VIDEO: Surveillance video of La Union shooting
Prosecutors said Medrano admitted to detectives that she was driving the car, and that there was a fight with members of a rival gang at the restaurant before the shooting. She told detectives that she left the restaurant after the fight, picked up a friend, who police believe is the gunman, and returned to the restaurant, prosecutors said.
Medrano told detectives that she stayed in the vehicle while three people who were in her car went inside the restaurant, according to prosecutors. She told detectives that a few minutes later, the three people came back out of the restaurant and she heard gunshots, prosecutors said. She told detectives that one of the people ran over to her car, pointed a gun at her and told her to drive or she would die, prosecutors said.
The state asked for a bond of $100,000, while the defense asked for a $20,000 bond. The judge settled on $50,000.
Medrano is being held in the Harris County Jail.
Police are still looking for the other people believed to be responsible for the shooting. Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 713-222-8477.