Bond was reinstated Wednesday afternoon for a woman facing charges in a connection with a case invovling the shooting death of a Salina teen. 21-year-old Azucena Garcia-Ferniza, one of six people facing charges in the shooting death of 17-year-old Allie Saum, appeared in Saline County District Court.
Garcia-Ferniza is facing an obstruction charge, accused of trying to hide the gun that was used in the shooting. She is back in Salina after being released from federal custody.
The Salina case stems from the shooting death of Allie Saum, who was shot and killed on May 6th in what prosecutors allege was a case of mistaken identity. Shots were fired at a truck as it drove eastbound in the 500 block of Russell. Saum was a passenger in the truck, and was hit in the head.
Garcia-Ferniza at the time was the girlfriend of the person accused of firing the gun. She is not accused of being a part of the shooting, but rather later trying to conceal the gun. Garcia-Ferniza locally faces a charge of obstruction.
Garcia-Ferniza was indicted on September 2nd on a federal gun charge. She is charged with one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by an alien illegally in the United States.
At the court appearance in Salina on Wednesday, in requesting that bond be reinstated, attorney Julie McKenna said that Garcia-Ferniza is not a flight risk. She said that Garcia-Ferniza has been living in the United States since she was 3-years-old, the bulk of that time in Salina. The Saline County Attorney’s Office argued that Garcia-Ferniza is a flight risk, saying that the federal charges she is facing could lead to her being deported.
Judge Renee Young ultimately reinstated a bond, meaning that Garcia-Ferniza could potentially bond out of jail. Garcia-Ferniza indicated that she has a court appearance in early December in federal court in Wichita to deal with the immigration issue. She is also scheduled for a preliminary hearing in Salina on December 8th.
The other defendants in the Allie Saum case include:
- 22-year-old Macio Palacio
- 19-year-old Jerome Forbes
- 19-year-old Daniel Sims
- 18-year-old Stephen Gentry
- 17-year-old Andrew Woodring
All five face the same charges, which include:
- 1st degree murder
- attempted 1st degree murder
- shooting at an occupied vehicle
- conspiracy to commit aggravated battery
Additionally, Woodring faces an obstruction charge.
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