Jury Seated in Trial of Woman Accused of Murdering Indio Motel Guest

MURRIETA (CNS) - A jury was seated Monday in the trial of a 35-year-old
Arizona woman accused in the unprovoked fatal shooting of a guest at an
Indio motel, where they were smoking methamphetamine together.
  

Carla Sharese Flores allegedly killed 27-year-old Ashley Brito of
Thousand Palms at the City Center Motel in 2021.
  

Flores is charged with first-degree murder and sentence-enhancing gun
and great bodily injury allegations.
  

After three days of jury selection, Riverside County Superior Court
Judge John Monterosso swore in a panel Monday at the Southwest Justice Center
in Murrieta.
  

Opening statements are set for Tuesday morning.
  

Flores was being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Smith
Correctional Facility.
  

According to a trial brief filed by the District Attorney's Office, on
the afternoon of March 31, 2021, Brito was with a friend, Adrian Audevez,
at an Indio bar when she met Flores, who was unfamiliar with the area and fell
into conversation with Brito.
  

As the parties sat drinking, they all agreed to find a place where
they could share narcotics, the brief said.
  

They drove in Audevez's Honda sedan to the motel at 83597 Indio Blvd.,
where Brito paid for a room, into which they all went, and within a half-
hour, began smoking meth and sharing Xanax tablets, according to court papers.
  

Audevez later told homicide detectives that as he walked over to plug
his phone charger into a wall socket, he heard a gunshot.
  

``Audevez saw the victim fall to the floor and saw the defendant
holding what appeared to be a black (revolver),'' the brief stated. ``He said
he asked the defendant `why did you do that,' but she did not answer. Audevez
said he was scared, so he grabbed his phone and left for his car.''
  

Flores followed close behind him and jumped into the front passenger
seat of his Honda without asking, shouting ``Go, go, go,'' according to the
narrative.
  

The witness told police he headed toward Coachella but his car ran out
of gas in the area of Avenue 52 and Highway 86, so he got out and started
walking toward the nearest service station. The defendant walked in another
direction, according to the brief.
  

Audevez was able to get a ride to the Indio Police Department, where
he divulged what allegedly happened.
  

Brito was found dead on the floor of the motel room with a bullet
wound to the chest.
  

Detectives were able to corroborate the details, based largely on
security surveillance camera videos from around the motel, the brief said.
  

Within a month, they confirmed Flores' identity and procured an arrest
warrant. They were contacted two days later by El Centro Police Department
personnel, who had taken Flores into custody following a disturbance at a
motel, where she was found in possession of controlled substances, according to
court papers.
  

Detectives transported her back to Indio, where she agreed to answer
questions, the brief said.
  

``The defendant was very quiet and said little,'' the prosecution
said. ``She ... admitted knowing the victim in passing. When detectives
confronted her with video surveillance and other evidence, the defendant denied
the victim ever did something wrong to her, or hating the victim. She
eventually admitted that she ... was the person who shot her. The defendant
said she found the gun and had been carrying it with her when she traveled to
Indio. When asked if the victim did anything to deserve (being shot), the
defendant said no.''
  

Flores has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.
  

If convicted, she would face a prospective mandatory minimum sentence
of 50 years to life in state prison.
  

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