Kevin Ray James murder charge connected to 1997 bank robbery cleared to proceed Wednesday
VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. – Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko announced Thursday that a first-degree murder charge filed against Kevin Ray James in connection with the 1997 murder of a teller during a bank robbery is now moving forward after a preliminary hearing on Wednesday.
The decision to continue with the criminal proceedings was made by Ventura County Superior Court Judge Derek Malan after the three-day preliminary hearing was held where witnesses and evidence were presented detail the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
On Apr. 28, 1997, two men robbed the Western Financial Bank in Thousand Oaks for a total of just over $11,000 state the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
One of the men involved in the robbery, later identified as Kevin Ray James, is accused of shooting Monica Leech, a Camarillo woman working as a bank teller at the time of the incident, in the back of the head explain the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
According to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office, James was charged with the first-degree murder of Leech as well as two special allegations of murder while engaged in a robbery and use of a firearm on Mar. 13, 2023.
James pled not guilty to all charges on Apr. 13, 2023 state the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
An information arraignment is currently scheduled for Apr. 24, 2024, in courtroom 11 of the Ventura County Superior Court and James remains in custody without bail detail the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
