Bortis pleads not guilty in Loomis shooting death

A Loomis man has pleaded not guilty to a single charge of murder for the shooting death of developer Lawrence J. "Cutter" Ficarra.Gary Bortis, 49, allegedly shot Ficarra at least five times the night of Sept. 8 over a property dispute."He has been charged with one count of murder," said Jeff Wilson, deputy district attorney for Placer County. "The investigation into that murder is ongoing."The 52-year-old longtime property developer known as "Cutter" - from Aptos, near Santa Cruz - was a divorced father of three girls. Jaime Ficarra said that she and her sisters, Alexandra, 15, and Giavanna, 14, of Aptos, are struggling to keep their home after the loss of their father."Losing our father is absolutely the worst thing in the world for us," Jaime Ficarra said. "Our lives are basically ruined."She said and her siblings are in a "financial bind," and a fund has been set up to enable them to keep their Aptos home.Ficarra was shot multiple times at a home on Boone Lane in Loomis. Bortis was arrested shortly after the shooting and remains in Placer County Jail without bail. His girlfriend, Mary Anne Stein, was arrested for accessory to murder, officials said. She has since posted $50,000 bail.Sgt. Brian Whigam, of the Placer County Sheriff's Department, said 60 firearms were taken from Bortis' home and have been entered into evidence.Donations, in care of the Ficarra family, can be sent to Union Bank, P.O. Box 1240, Aptos, CA 95003.Penne Usher can be reached at penneu@goldcountrymedia.com.