Today's court hearing for an 18-year-old accused of fatally shooting a man in the head outside a Vons supermarket in Desert Hot Springs was postponed until Tuesday.

Anthony Raymond Magdaleno of Hawaiian Gardens was scheduled to appear in court today to hear charges of murder and discharging a weapon during a homicide.

The hearing was postponed twice earlier in the day and eventually rescheduled for Tuesday because of an undisclosed medical problem.

“Apparently there is a medical issue that he has not been cleared for,” Riverside County Superior Court Judge Graham Cribbs said on Monday afternoon.

Cribbs said he did not know the specifics of Magdaleno’s case but said the jail has had several medical holds related to the H1N1 virus.

Magdaleno, who is still being held on a $1.5 million bail, stands accused in the Oct. 10 shooting death of Chi-Lu "Tony"' Chen outside the Vons supermarket on Palm Drive.

Magdaleno, a self-admitted member of the gang Varrio Hawaiian Gardens, was arrested last Wednesday in Los Angeles County, according to Sgt. Dan Bressler of the Desert Hot Springs Police Department.

A witness who was in the Vons parking lot told police that Chen had walked through the lot to the front of the store and was immediately confronted by the shooter, according to a declaration in support of an arrest warrant.

The witness said the victim and gunman began talking, and "it appeared to be an unpleasant conversation. However, they were not physically involved nor did it appear to be anything protracted or violent,'' according to Bressler, who prepared the document.

When Chen turned away and took a step toward the sliding door to enter the store, the gunman made a remark and Chen turned to respond, Bressler wrote.

"As he turned, (the gunman), who had taken a step or two toward victim, quickly raised his right arm, pointed a handgun at victim's head and pulled the trigger,'' the sergeant wrote.

The witness reported hearing the shot and seeing the muzzle flash before the gunman fled on foot toward a McDonald's restaurant west of the supermarket, according to Bressler.

The sergeant said police have not determined a motive for the slaying.

Magdaleno was identified as the shooter by several witnesses who said they came into contact with him as he fled.

Chen had recently moved to the Coachella Valley to work in sales and marketing at the Agua Caliente Hotel on Palm Drive, which is across the street from the supermarket.