Case against man accused of Merced home invasion murder can proceed to trial, judge says

The trial of a Vallejo man accused of killing a Merced mother during an October home invasion at an East Main Street residence is moving forward.

On Wednesday Judge Carol Ash determined there was ample evidence to try defendant Emari Lee Prescott, 22, for the murder of Christina Velez.

Prescott is also charged with attempted murder, attempted home invasion robbery, assault with a semiautomatic firearm, shooting at an inhabited dwelling and possessing a firearm.

A video from a surveillance camera outside the house captured footage of the deadly Oct. 30 incident.

The footage was shown in court Wednesday during the preliminary hearing for Prescott.

Merced police testified the robbers targeted the house because Velez’s girlfriend kept marijuana there to sell illegally. The father of the victim’s girlfriend was also shot in the chest during the incident, but survived.

Judge Ash decided to move Prescott’s case forward to trial after hearing testimony from Merced police and watching the video. While Prescott’s the only defendant being held, two others are wanted: Travis Lavell Rucks, 20, and Jeremiah Marquis Macias Lacey, 24, both of Vallejo.

Prescott pleaded not guilty in the case. Mark Siegel, Prescott’s attorney, argued in court Wednesday his client was at the scene at some point, but is not guilty of premeditated murder.

What the video shows

Velez shared the East Main Street home with her two children, her girlfriend and her girlfriend’s father.

During Wednesday’s preliminary hearing, police testified Velez and her girlfriend were coming home late when three men approached outside the front door and made demands. The men then exchanged gunfire with the father, who was inside at the time.

The video shown in court Wednesday showed three figures walking up to the front door of the house, soon after Velez and her girlfriend arrived. Both women were trying to open the front door, although the father had a string contraption on the inside of the door to prevent break-ins.

As the two women opened the front door, the men approached and started yelling. Screaming and gunshots are heard off-camera. What appears to be debris flying from gunshots hitting the front of the house is visible on the video. All three men in the video were masked and hooded.

The sound of the gunshots also appears to make alarms go off on cars parked in the home’s driveway.

Prescott appeared in court on Wednesday seated in a wheelchair. The Vallejo resident suffered gunshot wounds himself, which police believe were sustained during the exchange of gunfire the night of the shooting.

Police tracked Prescott down after his phone was found outside the house where the shooting took place.

The defendant was later found being treated for gunshot wounds at Emanuel Medical Center in Turlock, where police questioned him.

Officers testified Wednesday that Prescott maintained he was shot at a party he attended in Turlock the same night.

Prescott remains in the Merced County Jail in lieu of $1.5 million bail.

This story was originally published January 6, 2022 at 5:00 AM.