Vanesa Tapia Zavala, 25, of Santa Ana was charged with one felony count of murder this afternoon for her role in the death of 23-year-old Kim Pham in Santa Ana in the early morning hours of Jan. 19, 2014. You can watch a video of today’s court proceedings at this link, courtesy of CBS News.
Zavala faces a maximum sentence of 15 years to life in state prison if convicted. The OCDA requested that Zavala be held on $1 million bail at her arraignment this afternoon. The OCDA also advised that the investigation is ongoing and additional information will not be released at this time.
Cellphone video was taken of the beating, which shows crowds surrounding the fight, watching as it happened. Security guards staffed by The Crosby were just far enough away from the fight to not see it until it was over, police said, according to NBC News.
The Santa Ana City Council on Tuesday evening approved a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the “outstanding suspects,” according to a city news release. A business coalition called Downtown Inc. was also offering a $5,000 reward, according to KTLA News.
Following her arraignment Zavala’s defense attorney Kenneth Reed says his client lost her cell phone during the incident and he believes police have it. He says he’s seen no other evidence in the case against Zavala, according to KPCC.
Reed also said Zavala has a 5-year-old son and that she works in an office in Santa Ana. Reed’s office is just a door north of The Crosby, the site of the Saturday morning incident.
“I refuse to believe that people of this community would watch a woman be stomped to death by five people and nobody would do anything,” Reed said. The lawyer characterized it as “a melee, a bunch of people fighting,” according to CBS News.
Reed also told reporters after his client’s arraignment that she was knocked down during the melee, and he doubted reports that it was a beat-down, according to ABC News.
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This is just a perfect example of what is to come to downtown SA night life. The Crosby is such a SMALL venue to start with as just a local restaurant. I've been there a few times for dinner and its ridiculous to even get a table. The owners of The Crosby began to have DJs come in and play certain nights. Of course, this venue was going to have issues of capacity PERIOD (reason why there was 50 in line when this murder happened.) SA city council is ran by money hungry ignorant selfish egos. They get kick backs for giving liquor licenses to those who are able to buy Sarmiento, Benavides and Martinez (x gang member - drug addict) council woman. These individuals don't care wether or not there is enough police
presence in downtown nightlife to keep the streets safe. They only want $ for liquor licenses to whoever wants them. I am sick to know that this is just the beginning of many more murders to occur. SANTA ANA CITY COUNCIL HAS BLOOD ALL OVER THEIR HANDS!!!!
https://www.facebook.com/vanessa.zavala.5494
These ghetto mexicunt chicks have kids. Wow. Great example to be setting for your children, you ghetto pieces of dog poo.