A change of legal representation caused another arraignment delay Tuesday for a former Los Angeles police officer and Marine accused of fatally shooting a man following a fistfight in a Pomona bar, then fleeing to Mexico.
Henry Solis, 27, briefly appeared in court in downtown Los Angeles to face one count each of murder and assault with a firearm, along with an allegation that he personally discharged a handgun, but did not enter a plea.
Solis switched from being represented by the public defender's office to hiring two separate law firms to defend him, resulting in postponement of his arraignment to July 17.
He remains jailed in lieu of $10 million bail and could face a potential life prison term if convicted.
Solis allegedly killed Salome Rodriguez Jr., 23, on March 13 while a probationary officer in the LAPD's Devonshire Division in the San Fernando Valley. He was fired by the department soon after becoming a fugitive.
Members of Rodriguez's family packed several rows in the courtroom audience, and were disappointed to learn that the arraignment was being delayed.
"I just thought today was going to be the day, guilty or not guilty,'' said Rodriguez's mother, Lidia. "The hardest thing is that we have to keep on seeing him and my son is not here.''
"We always say that we feel that justice delayed is justice denied, and it's difficult for them to have come all the way here just to find out that it's going to be continued once again," said the family's attorney, Gloria Allred.
The victim's family was also upset when they saw Solis laughing in court.
"We don't know what he was laughing about, but this is not funny,'' Allred said. "It's a murder case and it's very hurtful to the victim's family to see him with a smile or a smirk on his face, and he was clearly laughing. I think at the end of this case, we're hoping that the smile is wiped off his lips once and for all."
Police said Solis and Rodriguez got into a fight in a bar, and the confrontation spilled into the street and ended with gunfire.
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Solis then became the subject of an extensive manhunt. His father, Victor, drove Solis out of state and later told federal authorities that he had simply dropped his son off at a Texas bus stop. The pair, however, were caught on surveillance video walking across the Mexico border.
Solis was arrested May 26 by Mexican authorities in the border city of Juarez and deported to the United States.
Solis had been staying with relatives in the Juarez area prior to his arrest, FBI officials said. Special Agent Scott Garriola said Solis was "moved from one house to another" to help him avoid capture.
Victor Solis, 53, was convicted by a federal jury in El Paso of lying to the FBI about helping his son escape. He is facing up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
