Jury seated in trial of woman accused of murdering Indio motel guest

MURRIETA, Calif. (KESQ) - A jury was seated today 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.