After 4 months on the lam, Southern Calif. teen pleads not guilty to killing 16-year-old boy

Calif. teen pleads not guilty in death of boy

HEMET, Calif. — A Southern California teenager accused of dismembering and burning a 16-year-old boy before fleeing to Mexico has pleaded not guilty to murder charges.

John Hall, spokesman for the Riverside County district attorney’s office, says 18-year-old Jose Manuel Campos was arraigned Friday afternoon. He is being held on $2 million bail.

Campos will be tried as an adult even though the crime occurred when he was a juvenile.

Prosecutors say Campos shot Adrian Rios in November and burned his body in a backyard bonfire with the help of his 17-year-old girlfriend, Felicia Sharp. Charred human remains were later found in Campos’ yard.

Campos and Sharp were found four months later by Mexican authorities in the border town of Mexicali. Sharp was wanted as an accessory but hasn’t been charged as an adult.