Downey triple homicide suspect pleads not guilty

A Los Angeles man accused in the October 2012 shooting deaths of two women and one man in Downey was arraigned Friday on a grand jury indictment charging him with the killings. Jade Douglas Harris, 30, pleaded not guilty to 10 felony counts - three counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder, four counts of kidnapping for carjacking and one count of felon with a firearm.

The superseding indictment was unsealed today by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge James R. Brandlin. The charging document includes four special circumstance allegations of multiple murders, murder during the commission of a burglary, murder during the commission of carjacking and murder during the commission of kidnapping.

Harris' next court date is set for June 27 at Norwalk Superior Court for a pretrial hearing.

The District Attorney's Office will not decide whether to seek the death penalty until the case moves closer to trial.

Harris is accused of fatally shooting Josimar Rojas, 26, Irene Cardenas Reyes, 35, and Susana Perez Ruelas, 34, on Oct. 24, 2012, after responding to an Internet advertisement for a vehicle for sale.

Rojas and Reyes were killed at United States Fire Protection, a business in Downey, where another woman also was shot and injured.

Harris allegedly forced Perez Ruelas to drive him and her teenage son to a nearby home where the vehicle was located. At the residence, Harris allegedly killed Perez Ruelas.

The boy, 13, was shot but survived.

Harris was detained by Downey police a day later.

The indictment states that since 2003 Harris has prior felony convictions for robbery, attempted robbery and carrying a concealed weapon.