Pizzeria Murder Trial Advances After Video Recovery

A San Diego judge ordered the trial of four men accused of killing Ryan Cunningham to continue, resolving a dispute over missing video evidence from the 2004 murder outside LaBella's Pizza in Chula Vista. The ruling allows the case to move forward even though police lost key surveillance footage that has only recently been recovered.

The four defendants, including Jose Roque-Garcia who remains in custody, face charges of beating and stabbing Cunningham, who was 21 years old at the time. The case had been cold for more than two decades until the men were arrested earlier this year. The other three defendants are currently out on bail.

Defense attorneys for all four men argued for dismissal, claiming Chula Vista police were negligent in their handling of evidence. Patrick Griffen, Roque-Garcia's attorney, stated that nine separate video recordings, some lasting hours, were lost or never secured by police. He argued this mishandling compromised the trial.

Robert Eacret, the deputy district attorney, countered that the essential video of the pizzeria's interior lobby has been recovered. He described the footage as pixelated and of low quality but confirmed it is the correct recording. The judge agreed that other substantial evidence, including DNA and an informant's identification, supports moving the case to trial.

Hannah Rangel, Cunningham's sister, expressed mixed emotions about the ruling. She noted that while she is relieved the cases were not dismissed, the details about lost evidence reinforced her long-held belief that the investigation was not treated as a priority. Rangel told ABC 10News that the list of unobtained evidence is a difficult reality for the family to accept.

The trial is scheduled to begin in February 2027. Chula Vista police have not responded to five outreach attempts regarding the status of the videos and the initial investigation.