Gang members plead not guilty in slayings

Members of a predominantly Latino street gang pleaded not guilty Thursday to the shooting death of a black teenager and the stabbing death of a possible witness weeks later.

Jonathan Fajardo, 18, and Ernesto Alcarez, 20, of the 204th Street gang were charged with murder, attempted murder and a hate crime in the Dec. 15 shooting of Cheryl Green, 14, in a Harbor Gateway neighborhood.

Fajardo was also charged, along with three other 204th Street gang members, with the murder of Christopher Michael Ash, 25, weeks later. They are also charged with using murder to further the activities of a street gang. Authorities say the alleged perpetrators incorrectly believed that Ash had informed police of gang members' role in Green's slaying.