San Diego : Lakeside

A Lakeside man pleaded innocent Monday to three counts of murder stemming from a shooting spree last week in an apartment in Lakeside.

Aristeo Valenzuela Hernandez, 29, was ordered held in lieu of $1 million bail by San Diego Municipal Judge Robert McDonald.

Killed on Nov. 16 was Hernandez’s estranged wife, Teresa Ann Hernandez, 24, who was five months pregnant and seeking a divorce.

Also fatally shot was Jesus Mireles Rodriguez, 16. His 20-year-old brother, Jose Mireles Rodriguez, was shot through the eye in the incident and died Sunday.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Dan Lamborn told the court that his office is weighing whether to file special-circumstances allegations, which could bring the death penalty if Hernandez is convicted of multiple murders.

Lamborn told McDonald that the killings took place in front of the couple’s two young children. He said that, the day before, Hernandez was notified that his wages might be garnished for failure to pay child support.

Lamborn said the two brothers were shot first, both in the face, and then the wife was shot in the side, with the bullet piercing her heart.

The D.A.’s office is also weighing whether to file a fourth murder charge in the death of the fetus, Lamborn said. They will rely on the opinion of experts as to whether the fetus was viable at the time of the shooting.

A Feb. 3 preliminary hearing was set.