A 31-year-old man was charged today with capital murder in the July 5 fatal sidewalk shooting of a woman in Hollywood, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced. Ezeoma Chigozie Obioha (DOB 6/17/84) is scheduled to be arraigned today at the Foltz Criminal Justice Center, Department 30, in case BA438448. Prosecutors will ask that he be held without bail. Deputy District Attorney Craig Hum with the Major Crimes Division is handling the case.
Obioha is charged with one count of murder with the special circumstances of lying in wait and murder for financial gain in the July 5 shooting death of Carrie Melvin. Melvin was shot once as she was walking with her boyfriend near Sunset Boulevard and McCadden Place at about 10 p.m. The complaint also alleges Obioha personally and intentionally discharged a shotgun. Prosecutors said the murder was the result of a business dispute. The special circumstances make Obioha eligible for the death penalty. Prosecutors will decide later whether to seek death or life in prison without the possibility of parole if he is convicted. The case remains under investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department.
