Love Triangle Led to Shooting, Attorney Says

A Temecula man charged with shooting his estranged wife may have flown into a fit of rage over a love triangle, an attorney said today.

Jose De Jesus Cardon Alcala, 39, was accused of shooting his wife and kidnapping their 5-year-old daughter during an argument on Aug. 3, 2008 in Temecula.

His wife, Marta De Ochoa, 43, spent two months in the hospital and underwent three surgeries, but she survived, said defense attorney Josh Knight during a pretrial hearing today.

Investigators found their daughter at a family member’s home in central California, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.

Alcala was charged with attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, spousal abuse, burglary and multiple gun and great bodily injury allegations. He’s being held without bail at Southwest Detention Center in French Valley.

The fight started when a friend of the separated couple called Alcala and told him his wife engaged in sexual behavior with another man in view of their daughter, Knight said.

Alcala drove to the victim’s home in the 43100 block of Corte Cabrera in Temecula before dawn and broke in, according to sheriff’s investigators.

Alcala, the victim and several other people got in an argument, attorneys said. “Everybody was sort of yelling at everybody during the incident,” Knight said.

Alcala then shot the woman in the stomach, snatched his daughter and fled to a relative’s home in Rosamond in Kern County, according to sheriff’s officials.

An Amber Alert was broadcast, and Kern County sheriff’s deputies spotted Alcala shortly after eating at a fast food restaurant. They arrested him without a fight, sheriff’s officials said.

Riverside County Superior Court Judge Mark Mandio screened the first panel of prospective jurors today. The trial should to last two weeks and begin on Wednesday, Mandio said.

Alcala was originally charged with kidnapping, but that was dismissed for lack of evidence during a 2009 preliminary hearing.

City News Service contributed to this report.