Suspect in court for shooting that killed woman outside Merced party
MERCED, Calif. (KFSN) -- A preliminary hearing started Monday for a man accused of killing an innocent 20-year-old outside a party in Merced last year.
Jose Kevin Valencia-Zavala is charged with murder for shooting and killing 20-year-old Kaylie Lynn Allen in April 2023.
Witnesses took the stand to describe the chaotic scene outside of a party near Grogan and West Avenue where the shots rang out.
"It was a strictly over-18 event, and a young man tried to get into the event, and they refused him entry. He became upset and began trying to have a physical fight with the bouncers. They told him to leave. At this point, he began to identify himself as a gang member and insult the bouncer. He left into the parking lot and began shooting in their direction," said Merced Police Officer Alejandro Arias.
Prosecutors say that man is Valencia-Zavala.
He sat in court in a gray shirt Monday, taking notes.
Officers also described what the day was like for Cheryl Dunigan, the victim's grandmother.
She dropped Allen and her boyfriend off at the party shortly before the gunfire.
"After she heard the tap, tap, tap. She got out of the vehicle, and she saw Ms. Allen lying on the ground on her stomach, so she went to where her granddaughter was," said Merced Police Officer Tyler McCannon.
Dunigan was too distraught to speak with Action News Monday as she left the courthouse in tears.
She says it's like reliving the day all over again.
Earlier this year, she told Action News about the hole left in her heart since her granddaughter's death.
"He doesn't understand the light that he just extinguished. He doesn't understand what he took away from so many of us. She was everything to me," said Dunigan.
The preliminary hearing is expected to continue Tuesday.
Then, a judge will decide if there's enough evidence for this case to go to trial.
If convicted, Valencia-Zavala could face life in prison.
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