Woman charged with murder in offramp shooting
The suspect is accused of participating in last week's attack on 19-year-old motorist Samantha Padilla, who had just exited the Harbor Freeway in South L.A. Two other suspects are being sought.
Prosecutors this afternoon charged a 30-year-old woman with the murder of an LAX baggage handler who was shot and killed last week on a freeway offramp in South Los Angeles.
In addition to the murder count, prosecutors also allege Jessica Ortega is a member of the Playboys street gang and that she killed 19-year-old Samantha Padilla in order to further her gang's activities. Los Angeles police said they were still searching for two other suspects in the killing, including the alleged triggerman.
Ortega, a resident of the Ramona Gardens housing projects, faces a maximum state prison term of 50 years to life if convicted of all charges.
Ortega, who police say went by the name "Gorda," was being held in lieu of $2 million bail. She is due to be arraigned later this afternoon and is expected to plead not guilty, authorities said.
Padilla, a baggage handler at Los Angeles International Airport, was shot just after midnight Thursday near the Slauson Avenue offramp of the northbound Harbor Freeway.
She was stopped at a traffic light after exiting the freeway when a brown Ford Bronco pulled up next to her vehicle and someone opened fire, police said. Padilla later died of multiple gunshot wounds at a downtown hospital.
Ortega had been detained for questioning in the case Thursday but was released, police said. They received additional information that led to her arrest on Friday.
andrew.blankstein@latimes.com
