Johnny Ortiz, an actor who played roles in the Kevin Costner-directed film “McFarland USA” and “The Road: A Breaking Movie,” has been charged with attempted murder, Fox News confirmed.
In a criminal complaint filed by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office (DA) and obtained by Fox News on Monday, Ortiz, 24, faces a charge of attempted premeditated murder and is on bail of $ 1.1 million .
The prosecutor’s office told Fox News that Ortiz and his co-defendant Armando Miguel Navarro appeared before a judge on Monday and that the case is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on September 22.
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Johnny Ortiz, an actor who played roles in the Kevin Costner-directed movie “McFarland USA” and the Netflix movie “The Road: A Breaking Movie,” has been charged with attempted murder. (Charley Gallay photo / Getty Images for Netflix)
The complaint alleges that Ortiz and Navarro, 18, attempted to kill Brian Duke “for the benefit of, under the leadership and in association with a criminal street gang with the specific intention of promoting, promoting and assisting in the criminal conduct of the members. of the gang. “
Although the complaint alleges that it was Navarro who pulled the trigger of the pistol used during the May 24 attack on Duke’s life, the details of Ortiz’s alleged participation remain scarce.
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Navarro is being held on $ 2 million bail.
Meanwhile, Ortiz’s family claims he is innocent of the charges and has created a crowdfunding page to raise funds to get him out of jail.
Ortiz, 24, is currently on $ 1.1 million bail. (Photo by Neilson Barnard / Getty Images)
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“Johnny is everything to our family,” says the GoFundMe post. “Johnny does everything to help the community and especially the Hispanic community.”
“Johnny has contributed to many nonprofits and community organizations. He is in prison fighting for his innocent case. We want our beloved family member to come back to us.”
Ortiz’s family claims he is innocent of the charges. (Photo by Michael Tullberg / Getty Images)
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In addition to his roles alongside Costner and working on the Netflix project, Ortiz also appeared in the 2018 movie “Peppermint,” starring Jennifer Garner.
TMZ was the first to report the charges.
Lawyers for Navarro and Ortiz did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.
