LONG BEACH (CNS) - A Wilmington man charged in the fatal shooting of a woman at a strip mall in Long Beach pleaded not guilty today to murder and other counts.
Corderell McKnight, 32, was charged March 22 with one count each of murder, fleeing a pursuing peace officer's motor vehicle while driving recklessly, possession of a firearm by a felon and unlawful possession of ammunition, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. Tearra Stocker, 35, of Anaheim, was found with multiple gunshot wounds about 3:30 p.m. March 20 in the 6600 block of Cherry Avenue, and later died at a hospital, according to the Los Angeles County coroner's office and the Long Beach Police Department.
Police said Stocker was sitting in her car with another person at the strip mall when the suspect approached the vehicle on foot and shot her. ``Detectives learned the victim and suspect were long-time acquaintances, and the suspect specifically sought out and targeted the victim,'' according to police. The other person in the vehicle was not injured, police said.
McKnight was arrested that night following a police pursuit that began after officers spotted him in the 2800 block of Long Beach Boulevard, according to police. The pursuit was handed off to the California Highway Patrol once it entered the San Diego (405) Freeway, and McKnight was later taken into custody in Los Angeles, police said. He has remained behind bars since then, according to jail records.