crponies
Well-Known Member
Wow, what an experience! My first day to go in was Feb. 10th and we finished up today. Here is a link to an article on the case: Police identify slain man, also this one: Three arrested in gang killing
I was on the jury for Jose Gomez and his trial was held at the same time as Gerardo Orozco although there were some parts of the trial where only one jury was present such as opening and closing arguments and viewing the video of the police interview with each suspect (we only watched the one of Jose and the other jury only watched the one of Gerardo).
The charges were 1st degree murder, robbery, and active participation in a criminal street gang. It was really interesting to hear all the evidence. I think the parts of the evidence I found the most interesting were the testimonies of the chief medical examiner and the gang expert. Deliberation was not easy exactly. I realized when the judge started giving us our instructions it was going to be a little more complicated than I thought because under each charge are lesser charges that can be options if the defendant is not guilty of the greater offense. In the end, we found him guilty of second degree murder, grand theft, and active participation in a criminal street gang.
The third man is still going to be tried for this crime as well and the jury for Gerardo was still deliberating.
From the evidence presented this is what happened:
The three men along with one woman had been drinking, driving around, hanging around at a park, and the like that evening. The three men are members of the Norteno gang. They went to the gas station around 1:00 in the morning to buy cigarettes and more beer. While they were there the victim drove up and parked. The victim was a member of Soreno. He had tires in his backseat that he wanted to sell. (Don't ask me why you go to a gas station at 1 in the morning to sell tires!) They actually had about a 15 minute conversation which seemed pretty peaceful overall and at one point walked over to Gerardo's car which had a "doughnut" tire on it. They then went back over to the front of the store. The woman and one man walked back to Gerardo's car and that is when Jose threw the first punch. The motive was not exactly clear other than that Jose had told the detective that the victim was wearing blue and was Mexican (in other words he suspected him to be a Soreno as blue is the color they like to wear). Also, after the trial, the DA was able to tell us that Gerardo had told police that Jose had been looking for someone to punch all evening. (This could not be used as evidence during the trial though.) The other two men, Gerardo and Stephen, joined in the beating along with Jose, so the victim never really stood a chance once they started.
They eventually dragged him over to the side and behind a dumpster where the beating escalated when Jose went behind the building and found a board to beat the victim on the head. Gerardo then picked up a 36 lb. chunk of concrete and brought that down on the victim's head at least once. Stephen did not use a weapon but did use his knees and feet. At some point Jose picked up the victim's cell phone. After the beating was over, the three left the victim lying behind the dumpster, ran back to their car, and drove away. Juan Alberto Sanchez-Chavez was there for several hours before being found by a homeless man. When he arrived at the hospital his pupils were fixed and dialated. They still tried to save his life but there was really nothing that could have been done with the injuries he had sustained even if he had been found immediately after the beating. He was pronounced brain dead and succumbed to his injuries.
The whole gang culture I find incredibly sad. What a waste of life! I am not even sure it is going to bother Jose to be in prison (which his possible sentence is 17 years to life with the 2nd degree murder conviction). Really, gang members expect or even want to go to prison. He will have some "respect" there among his peers because he killed a rival gang member.
Anyhow, I am glad the trial is done but it was a very educational and interesting experience.
I was on the jury for Jose Gomez and his trial was held at the same time as Gerardo Orozco although there were some parts of the trial where only one jury was present such as opening and closing arguments and viewing the video of the police interview with each suspect (we only watched the one of Jose and the other jury only watched the one of Gerardo).
The charges were 1st degree murder, robbery, and active participation in a criminal street gang. It was really interesting to hear all the evidence. I think the parts of the evidence I found the most interesting were the testimonies of the chief medical examiner and the gang expert. Deliberation was not easy exactly. I realized when the judge started giving us our instructions it was going to be a little more complicated than I thought because under each charge are lesser charges that can be options if the defendant is not guilty of the greater offense. In the end, we found him guilty of second degree murder, grand theft, and active participation in a criminal street gang.
The third man is still going to be tried for this crime as well and the jury for Gerardo was still deliberating.
From the evidence presented this is what happened:
The three men along with one woman had been drinking, driving around, hanging around at a park, and the like that evening. The three men are members of the Norteno gang. They went to the gas station around 1:00 in the morning to buy cigarettes and more beer. While they were there the victim drove up and parked. The victim was a member of Soreno. He had tires in his backseat that he wanted to sell. (Don't ask me why you go to a gas station at 1 in the morning to sell tires!) They actually had about a 15 minute conversation which seemed pretty peaceful overall and at one point walked over to Gerardo's car which had a "doughnut" tire on it. They then went back over to the front of the store. The woman and one man walked back to Gerardo's car and that is when Jose threw the first punch. The motive was not exactly clear other than that Jose had told the detective that the victim was wearing blue and was Mexican (in other words he suspected him to be a Soreno as blue is the color they like to wear). Also, after the trial, the DA was able to tell us that Gerardo had told police that Jose had been looking for someone to punch all evening. (This could not be used as evidence during the trial though.) The other two men, Gerardo and Stephen, joined in the beating along with Jose, so the victim never really stood a chance once they started.
The whole gang culture I find incredibly sad. What a waste of life! I am not even sure it is going to bother Jose to be in prison (which his possible sentence is 17 years to life with the 2nd degree murder conviction). Really, gang members expect or even want to go to prison. He will have some "respect" there among his peers because he killed a rival gang member.
Anyhow, I am glad the trial is done but it was a very educational and interesting experience.
