Vegas Bray Pleads Not Guilty to Shooting Ex-Boyfriend

Vegas Bray, 24, pled not guilty to first degree murder charges Friday at the South Bay Courthouse in Chula Vista.

Bray is accused of shooting her ex-boyfriend Victor Saucedo nine times with a .38 revolver Tuesday afternoon.

Saucedo's family and Assistant District Attorney Harrison Kennedy said Bray continuously harassed him, while Bray's family believe she has been villanized in the media.

"This was the ultimate act of obsession," Kennedy said when requesting Bray be denied bail. "They did have an intimate relationship for a period of time but broke it off after she became jealous of the mother of his young boy."

Kennedy argued that Bray presented "a clear and present danger to the public" but Judge Katherine Bacal set bail at $2 million.The two met while serving in the U.S. Navy and started dating in 2010.

The relationship came to an end in late 2011.

That's when the vandalism began, Kennedy said.

Kennedy said Bray slashed Saucedo's tires, smeared paint on his door and performed other forms of vandalism "to get his attention."

Bray was never charged with acts of vandalism due to a lack of evidence, sheriff officials said.

A day before the shooting, while together at Saucedo's apartment, "There was talk of rekindling their relationship, and Mr. Saucedo was not willing to commit to a long-term committed relationship that Ms. Vegas desired."

The next day, around 3:30 p.m., Bray returned with a gun, Kennedy alleged.

Shots were heard in two successions, first six at a time, then three at a time, the assistant DA said. Since the weapon that killed Saucedo was a .38 revolver that can only take six shots without reloading, the gun was reloaded and fired again, he said.

If convicted, Bray faces 50 years to life in state prison, Kennedy said.

Bray called 911 from the apartment at the time of the shooting.

"Initial reports were that it was some kind of suicide," Kennedy said, but after an investigation took place, Bray was arrested later that day.

Deputy Public Defender Stephanie Slattery told the judge that Bray was a lifelong San Diegan and college student who had no criminal record and worked as a waitress at a Lemon Grove strip club.

Bray's grandmother Brenda Moreno believes her granddaughter has been misrepresented in the media.

"They're bringing up all the negative aspects about her, whatever they can find. She's ex-military like Victor was ex-military," she said. "She served her country. I haven't heard that one time in the news."

"It's like he's up here and she's down there," Moreno said.

"They did have a relationship that was an off-on relationship. She was not stalking him. He would call her and she would come over," she said. ""I don't know where he's getting this stalking stuff from. Would you let a stalker in your house?"

Moreno said she spoke her granddaughter a few times a week and the two are very close.

"She doesn't have a bad character. And I know her very well," Moreno said, adding that she often helped her mother pay her bills.

Bray's brother Santiago Rubio made a point of clarifying that his sister wasn't a stripper at Little Darling's in Lemon Grove.

"She was a waitress, and even they can't believe it, cause when she was there, she was the sweetest person ever, always smiling, the nicest person you could ever be around. She never had any problems with anybody," he told reporters outside the courthouse.

Rubio said his sister is not the "monster" she's been made out to be. "She's an angel," he said. "She's the best thing that's ever happened to me."

Bray is scheduled to appear in court Oct. 29 for a readiness conference and preliminary hearing Nov. 1.