Suspect in Shotgun Killing of Aspiring Hollywood Talent Charged With Murder

The 31-year-old is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday and prosecutors will ask that he be held without bail, the district attorney’s office said in a press release.

The man accused of shooting and killing a Morro Bay woman on a Hollywood sidewalk, over what officials believe was a financial dispute, pleaded not guilty on Tuesday.

The shooting occurred about 10:10 p.m. July 5 as Melvin was walking with her boyfriend near the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and McCadden Place when the suspect walked up to them and fired a single shotgun round at Melvin.

The couple was going to dinner when she was gunned down, the victim’s father, Bernie Melvin, told KTLA after his daughter’s death.

Investigators were initially unsure if the attack was a random act of violence or a targeted killing. The DA’s office described it as a “business dispute”.

Melvin, who had a social media company, had done some marketing work for Obioha’s clothing line, the news broadcaster reported.

Ezeoma Obioha is shown in a photo posted on his Facebook page on December. 28, 2014. He also worked as a security guard at a marijuana dispensary and offered private security services.

Melvin suffered one fatal shot to the head with a shotgun, police said.

Obioha’s attorney said Tuesday that authorities have the wrong man, and it was not even clear his client knew Melvin.

The special circumstances in the crime make Obioha eligible for the death penalty if he is convicted, prosecutors said.

“The family is just concerned that the conversation so far has been very negative about Mr. Obioha, and the image that has been put forth so far has been very negative, and that’s not who he is”, Blacknell told reporters outside court. His next court date was set as August 31. Obioha was arrested by LAPD Hollywood Division officers Friday morning on suspicion of possession of marijuana for sale and was re-booked on suspicion of murder Friday night during the later investigation.