LOS ANGELES – A Filipino man being suspected of killing three people is now asking for a public attorney to represent him in court.
Carlo Mercado, 30, is the primary suspect in an unsolved triple murder case in San Diego, and is charged with three counts of first degree murder in connection to the shooting deaths of Ilona Flint (22), Salvatore Belvedere (22), and Gianni Belvedere (24).
According to a report by Balitang America, Mercado asked in court on Thursday, July 10, that he be allowed to change defense teams, and requested for a public defender.
Police investigators claimed that Mercado shot and killed Flint and Salvatore Belvedere around 1:30am, Dec. 24, 2013, at a Westfield Mall in Mission Valley, Calif. According to initial reports, Flint managed to call 911, but she later on died at the scene. Salvatore died a few days later due to the severe injuries he sustained in the attack.
The third victim, Gianni, was Salvatore’s brother and Flint’s fiancé. He went missing following the shooting, and a few weeks later, was found dead inside the trunk of a car in Riverside, Calif. Investigators said that he had been fatally shot, and was the victim of a homicide.
In June 2014, Mercado was arrested, and has since entered a not guilty plea.
Mercado’s previous lawyer, Michael Berg, said to reporters that the defense team was not provided with further details as to what evidence the police may have that led them to believe that the defendant is responsible for the killings.
Each murder charge carries a sentence of 25 years to life in prison. If the court finds him guilty of all three, and mandates that he serve his sentence consecutively (as opposed to concurrently), Mercado could spend at least 75 years in jail.
The raps also indicated that if Mercado is found guilty of more than one murder, he could be eligible to face capital punishment. If so, a jury will then decide whether he should get life in prison, or face the death penalty.
(With reports from Balitang America, 10News.com, and NBCSanDiego.com)
