Attorneys defending the four suspects charged with the murder of
a teen just blocks from the Gilroy Police Department said they
can’t move forward until the District Attorney’s Office hands over
additional discovery.
Attorneys defending the four suspects charged with the murder of a teen just blocks from the Gilroy Police Department said they can’t move forward until the District Attorney’s Office hands over additional discovery.
“This is a murder case. These young people are looking at spending the rest of their lives in prison,” said defense attorney Edward Sousa, highlighting what was at stake when explaining his reason for submitting a discovery motion at today’s plea hearing.
Like codefendants Heather Ashford, 19, and Angel Solorzano, 20, Sousa’s client, Robert Barrios, 20, did not intend to kill Larry Martinez, 18, last November, Sousa said. But even though they didn’t fire the gun that killed their friend and cousin, the three face conspiracy and murder charges for contributing to Martinez’s death during a clash with a rival gang.
The fourth defendant, alleged Sureño Cristian Jimenez, 21, also faces a murder charge and a felony gun possession charge for pulling the trigger of the gun that killed Martinez, according to court documents.
Defense attorneys said the case was not ready to head to preliminary hearing until they could further examine the evidence against their clients.
“I’m just not ready,” said Alfredo Morales, Ashford’s attorney. He spoke briefly with his client after she shuffled into the courtroom with her co-defendants, a tissue folded in her hand. She chewed her lip throughout the hearing, casting glances at family members seated in the courtroom. Members of Barrios’ and Solorzano’s families also attended. The two sat next to each other during the hearing, wearing matching red prison garb. Jimenez sat alone in the front row. His family has not been able to attend the hearings, Deputy Alternate Defender Jessica Delgado said.
The only “substantive evidence” against Ashford is on the defective DVDs recording her interview with law enforcement, Morales told Superior Court Judge Charles Hayden. Morales said he was unable to view these critical DVDs.
Defense attorneys want access to other documents as well, including witness contact information that has been redacted, Delgado said. She has also petitioned the juvenile court for the criminal histories of some of the involved witnesses to verify their credibility.
“It’s really important from a defense perspective to have as much information as possible,” Delgado said.
In November, half an hour before the shooting, Jimenez and two other Sureños who are still at large – Edgardo Centeno and an unnamed juvenile – threw a rock at the car Martinez and Solorzano rode in with Ashford at the wheel, according to police. After a brief discussion, Ashford, Martinez and Solorzano picked up Barrios and returned to confront the Sureños, police said. Armed with a small bat, Martinez and his friends snuck up on the Sureños from behind, provoking the rival gang members to turn and shoot, prosecutors said.
Instead of charging only those Sureños suspected of killing Martinez, District Attorney Dolores Carr used a rarely-invoked rule – the provocative act murder theory – to charge all three of Martinez’s associates for contributing to his death for the benefit of a criminal street gang. Solorzano and Barrios are both Norteño gang members, police said.
A judge will rule on Sousa’s discovery motion 1:30 p.m. Nov. 30 in Department 109 of the South County Courthouse in Morgan Hill. Attorneys also plan to set a date for the preliminary hearing at that time.
