Woman Convicted of Murdering Indio Motel Guest

MURRIETA (CNS) - A 35-year-old Arizona woman who fatally shot another
woman without provocation at an Indio motel was convicted on Tuesday of voluntary
manslaughter.
  

A Murrieta jury deliberated one day before finding Carla Sharese
Flores guilty in the death of 27-year-old Ashley Brito of Thousand Palms in
2021. Jurors determined the lesser count of manslaughter was more appropriate
than murder -- which is what Flores was originally charged with. Along with
manslaughter, the jury convicted her of a sentence-enhancing allegation of
using a firearm in the commission of a felony.
  

Riverside County Superior Court Judge John Monterosso scheduled a
sentencing hearing for May 15 at the Southwest Justice Center. She's expected
to receive more than 15 years in state prison.
  

The defendant is being held without 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 agreed to find a place where they
could share narcotics, the brief said.
  

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

Audevez later told detectives that as he went 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.
  

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

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

``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 Brito. 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 had no documented prior felony convictions in California.
  

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