'El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie' actor Johnny Ortiz charged with attempted murder
Actor Johnny Ortiz, who appeared in last year’s El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie and the 2015 Kevin Costner film McFarland, USA, appeared in court Monday on felony charges of premeditated attempted murder.
Ortiz, 24, was arrested May 27. He’s being held by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department on $1.1 million bail.
According to a criminal complaint obtained by Yahoo Entertainment, Ortiz and another man, Armando Miguel Navarro, who’s also been charged in the incident, attempted to kill a third man, Brian Duke. They allegedly worked “in association with a criminal street gang.” Navarro is indicated as the person who “discharged a firearm.”
Deadline reported that Ortiz pleaded not guilty at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown Los Angeles, near where he’s being held. He’s scheduled to appear in court again for a preliminary hearing on Sept. 22.
If convicted, he faces 25 years to life in prison, according to the complaint.
A rep for Ortiz declined to comment.
His family has established a fundraiser to pay for his bail on GoFundMe, with a pleading message. Created July 13, the campaign has so far raised $900.
“Johnny is everything to our family. Johnny does everything to help the community and the Hispanic community especially,” the Ortiz family wrote in part. “Johnny has contributed to many non-profit organizations and community organizations. He is in jail fighting for his case that he is innocent on.”
Ortiz’s other work includes the 2018 Jennifer Garner action movie Peppermint, the 2018 film adaptation of Ann Patchett’s novel Bel Canto, and several episodes of TV’s American Crime in 2015.
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