A Temple City man was charged Wednesday with fatally shooting his 26-year-old neighbor during a conflict earlier this week, prosecutors said.
Massimo Barbagallo, 46, pleaded not guilty to one count of murder at his arraignment Wednesday, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
Cristian Jonathan Alarcon was unarmed and shot at a close range during the dispute Monday evening outside their homes on the 9400 block of Workman Avenue, according to investigators.
A neighbor told KTLA the dispute may have been over Alarcon’s pit bull.
Officials found the victim in Barbagallo’s front yard with a gunshot wound to his upper torso. Alarcon was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Detectives recovered a firearm from the scene. The DA’s office is seeking a sentencing enhancement for the allegation that Barbagallo used a handgun in the killing.
Authorities had not named the suspect or victim before Wednesday.
If convicted as charged, Barbagallo could face up to life in state prison.
The defendant was being held on $3 million bail and scheduled to return to court Aug. 9.
Alarcon’s family set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for the victim’s wife and three children. It had raised nearly $6,000 in two days.