LANCASTER : Suspect Pleads Not Guilty in Slaying at Pay Party

A 22-year-old Lancaster man pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges he murdered his half-brother at a pay-to-enter party in the Santa Clarita Valley community.

The suspect, Eric Lamont Gunn, earlier had denied that he was at the weekend party when Rayshaun Love, 17, was fatally shot in the chest while reportedly trying to shield two teen-age girls from the gunfire.

Martha Jordan, the mother of Love and Gunn, wept in the Lancaster Municipal Court as Gunn was brought in for his first court appearance since his arrest Monday night. Although family members are mourning the death of Love, Jordan vowed after the arraignment they would stand behind Gunn.

“I love him. We’re going to be there for him to support him in this matter,” Jordan said. And in a message to her jailed son, she said, “God is with you. Your mama loves you.”

Gunn also pleaded not guilty to two counts of attempted murder and one charge of cocaine possession.

In a recorded interview with homicide investigators after his arrest, Gunn denied being at the party at the time of the shooting, which besides fatally wounding Love, left two other men injured. Gunn is being held in Los Angeles County Jail in lieu of $950,000 bail.

According to court records, Gunn brandished a small handgun after another party-goer accidentally spilled beer on his shoes.