The 25-year-old man accused in the 2014 shooting death of Oak Harbor resident Adam Garcia may face additional and more serious charges, according to court documents.
Island County Prosecutor Greg Banks filed a motion to amend the charges against Christopher Malaga to first-degree murder, second-degree murder and assault in the second degree.
All the charges would come with a firearms enhancement, which would add an automatic five years to a sentence if a jury finds that it should be imposed.
Malaga will appear in Island County Superior Court Jan. 19 for a hearing on the motion to amend.
Malaga pleaded not guilty in 2014 to a single count of second-degree murder.
Banks previously warned defense attorney Jennifer Bouwens that he would amend the charge to murder in the first and add additional counts if Malaga didn’t accept a plea offer by Jan. 8.
The assault charge is for Malaga allegedly shooting at a witness to the murder while being chased from the scene, according to Banks’ motion to amend.
Bouwens filed an affidavit of prejudice against Judge Vickie Churchill, but Churchill denied it. The trial is scheduled for Feb. 9.
Malaga had been living at Garcia’s home prior to the Oct. 18, 2014 shooting, but they got into an argument and Garcia evicted him.
At about 3 in the morning, Malaga and a friend met Garcia and a friend at the corner of Southwest Castillian and Fairhaven drives in Oak Harbor for a small-time drug deal, according to the police report on the case.
The witness later told police that Malaga stepped in and confronted Garcia after the drug transaction. Malaga accused Garcia of trying to “jack” him and pointed a gun at him, the report states.
Garcia came up to Malaga as he was pointing the gun. Garcia’s friend got in the middle of the two. His friend later told police that Garcia went back toward Malaga again and Malaga shot him in the face, the report states.
Malaga is currently being held in jail in lieu of a $1 million bail bond. Bouwens argued in September that the bail should be reduced because detectives hadn’t disclosed earlier that there was “another suspect” and that the police might have arrested the wrong man.
Churchill, however, ruled that the bail amount should remain unchanged.
