Man pleads not guilty to murder in fight at Spring Valley Swap Meet parking lot [Breaking]
A man accused in a fight that left the manager of the Spring Valley Swap Meet dead pleaded not guilty Monday to murder.
Mauricio Juarez, 31, is accused of getting into a fight with Richard Johnson, 61, near a storage area in the swap meet’s overflow parking lot in Spring Valley’s La Presa neighborhood Thursday. The incident was reported about 10:45 a.m. in the lot on Jamacha Boulevard, also known as state Route 54 in that area, near state Route 125. Johnson suffered trauma to his head and was lying on the ground when deputies and paramedics arrived, sheriff’s Lt. Chris Steffen has said.Juarez was detained at the scene, questioned and later arrested.
According to a post on the Spring Valley Swap Meet’s Facebook page, Johnson was “a loving husband, a dedicated father, a loyal friend and a true pillar of the Spring Valley community.”More than a dozen of Johnson’s family members and supporters attended the arraignment Monday in El Cajon Superior Court.
No new details about the crime were revealed during the hearing. Superior Court Judge Harry Elias ordered that Juarez — who appeared in court remotely — remain held in county jail without bail.