Turlock man pleads not guilty in fatal shooting

A defendant accused of shooting to death a man in Turlock and arrested about a month later in Idaho pleaded not guilty to a charge of murder Thursday afternoon during his arraignment in Stanislaus County Superior Court.

Gabriel Miranda of Turlock is suspected in the May 2 fatal shooting of Simon White, 24, in the 100 block of Vermont Avenue. Investigators found White dead inside a home on Vermont.

The standard bail amount for Miranda’s charge is $2 million, said Deputy District Attorney Beth O’Hara OwenCQ. But she asked the judge for a bail increase because Miranda had to be extradited from Idaho, he has a criminal history of violence and authorities identified him as an associate of the Nuestra Familia prison gang.

Judge Thomas ZeffCQ set Miranda’s bail at $3million and scheduled him to return to court July 27 for a pretrial hearing. Miranda appeared in the arraignment hearing with a public defender but informed the judge he will hire his own attorney.