Man pleads not guilty in Alicia Todd murder case

A man accused of killing Alicia Faith Todd, the 21-year-old Signal Hill resident and former Millikan High School track star whose death last summer sparked a public outcry, pleaded not guilty Monday to a murder charge.

Tremaine Lewis, 24, faces gun allegations in addition to the murder charge, after police arrested him in coection with the shooting death of Todd, whose body was found in an alley just after 1 a.m. on June 24 in the 1100 block of East 21st Street.

Lewis, who is being held on $2 million bail, is due back in court April 11, when a date is expected to be set for a preliminary hearing that will determine if there is enough evidence to proceed to trial.

The Los Angeles County District Attoey’s Office charged Lewis, a Long Beach resident, with murder and an enhancement alleging the criminal use of a firearm.

At the time of her death, Todd was enrolled at Long Beach City College, hoping to eventually start a career in social work. She worked at a Chuck E. Cheese’s restaurant in downtown Long Beach, and friends and family described her as a courageous young woman with integrity, who was not involved in drugs or gang life.

Long Beach police have said detectives interviewed Todd’s relatives and friends in order to reconstruct the events of her final days. They leaed that she and Lewis had what police termed a “domestic relationship” at the time of the killing.

Investigators also determined Lewis and Todd were together on the night she died, according to police.

Following the news of Todd’s death, mouers gathered in the alley where she was found and prayed for peace, justice and unity in the community. The county Board of Supervisors in January offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person who shot Todd to death.

City News Service contributed to this report

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