Opinion ID: 1042995
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Circumstances surrounding the murders

Text: 1) Overview On Saturday, April 22, 1995, between 10:00 and 10:30 p.m., three adults — Anthony ―Dido‖ Moreno, his sister, Maria Moreno, and Gustavo ―Tito‖ Aguirre — and two of Maria‘s children — five-year-old Laura Moreno and six-month-old Ambrose Padilla — were shot to death in a house located at 3843 Maxson Road in El Monte, California. Richard ―Primo‖ Valdez, a Sangra street gang member, shot and killed Anthony Moreno and Gustavo Aguirre, while his fellow Sangra gang member Jimmy ―Character‖ Palma shot and killed Maria Moreno and the children. Sangra gang members Danny ―Tricky‖ Logan and Anthony ―Scar‖ Torres also participated in the shootings. The prosecution‘s theory was that the killings were ordered by Mexican Mafia member Raymond Shyrock, who had recently sponsored defendant (who was also known as ―Pelon‖) to become a member of the Mexican Mafia. The prosecutor theorized that defendant had conspired to commit or aided and abetted the commission of the murders, but was not present when the shootings occurred. The prosecutor also theorized that Anthony ―Dido‖ Moreno was killed because he had dropped out of the Mexican Mafia; that Gustavo ―Tito‖ Aguirre was killed either because he had robbed drug dealers protected by the Mexican Mafia or because he happened to be in the house at the time of the killings and the gang members had been instructed to leave no witnesses; and that Maria and the children were killed because they were witnesses even though there is a general ―rule‖ in the Mexican Mafia not to kill women or children. Defendant 2 asserted an alibi defense, maintaining that he had been at his son‘s baptism and baptismal party during the murders and the events preceding them. 2) Events before April 22, 1995 Witness No. 15, who like many other witnesses was not identified in the public written record for his protection, testified he was victim Anthony ―Dido‖ Moreno‘s brother. (See post, pt. II.A.2.) Anthony and Raymond Shyrock had served time in San Quentin State Prison, and in 1972 both men became members of the Mexican Mafia. Anthony dropped out of the Mexican Mafia in 1983. In January 1995, Anthony lived two apartments down from Raymond Shyrock, and in February or March he moved down the street to the house where the murders occurred. Witness No. 15 had expressed concern to his brother Anthony that ―something might happen to him or the family‖ because Anthony had dropped out of the Mexican Mafia. Anthony ignored these warnings because he was ―so involved‖ with drugs, and told Witness No. 15 that Shyrock ―was not a threat to him because he knew him for so many years.‖ An autopsy photograph showed a tattoo on Anthony‘s right ring finger that read ―EME,‖ which refers to the Mexican Mafia. In an 18-month investigation culminating in April 1995, Los Angeles County Sheriff‘s Sergeant Richard Briones Valdemar and other law enforcement officers secretly videotaped 18 Mexican Mafia meetings. On January 4, 1995, Raymond Shyrock, who Sergeant Valdemar believed was a member of the Mexican Mafia and had primary control over the San Gabriel Valley area in which El Monte is located, stated at a Mexican Mafia meeting, ―I don‘t know if [you] ever heard of this brother named like . . . Dido.‖ Shyrock explained, ―He dropped out a long time ago,‖ and when Shyrock was living in a monthly apartment, the 3 ―motherfucker was living right downstairs‖ in an apartment and ―never came up.‖ After Shyrock moved, Dido ―started showing his face, so somebody seen him and told me about it . . . but, there‘s all kinds of people in the pad. There‘s a whole bunch of youngsters . . . and kids. And all kinds of shit. So, I‘m trying . . . to figure out how to . . . — well, I need a silencer is what I need.‖ Shyrock also said, ―I just want to kill him, not the little kids.‖ Defendant was not present at this meeting. On April 2, 1995, defendant walked into a Mexican Mafia meeting that Sergeant Valdemar was monitoring electronically. At the meeting, Raymond Shyrock put defendant up for membership and raised his hand as a sponsor, saying: ―[T]his dude has gone way above and beyond the call of duty. Man, this motherfucker is sharp, he‘s taken care of a lot of business.‖ He also said, ―I know the Vatos [guys] don‘t know him, but take my word for it, the motherfucker‘s down. I‘m not talking about just violence either. Okay, you know, he takes care of business real good and he‘s downed a whole lot of motherfuckers in the last year. And he went against his whole neighborhood for us. He‘s been fighting with them and downed them. And when . . . one of his homies killed that oneyear-old baby a few months ago, he‘s the one that took care of them.‖ Defendant was voted into the Mexican Mafia. Witness No. 15 knew defendant, who had been a family friend. At times in early 1995, the year Shyrock sponsored defendant as a member of the Mexican Mafia, Witness No. 15 would see defendant and Shyrock together. Defendant seemed proud of becoming a member and said he was going to ―put in a lot of work.‖ Witness No. 15 testified that victim Gustavo ―Tito‖ Aguirre was a family friend. About a month to six weeks before the murders, Witness No. 15 saw 4 Aguirre rob a local drug ―connection,‖ or dealer, of drugs worth about $50 and about $35 in cash. He had also heard that Aguirre committed other robberies in the area involving small amounts of drugs worth $50 or $100. Witness No. 15 said that the drug dealers Aguirre robbed were paying ―taxes‖ to the Mexican Mafia. A ―couple of weeks‖ before the murders, Raymond Shyrock told Witness No. 15 that he was tired of Tito ―disrespecting him and robbing dope connections and that sooner or later [he was] going to have to pay for that.‖ Witness No. 14, an El Monte Flores gang member, testified that a couple of days before the murders, defendant spoke to him about victim Aguirre. Defendant said to ―stay away from Tito because he was no good.‖ Defendant also told him at some point that Tito was ―burning connections‖ and Shyrock wanted him ―taken out.‖ 3) Events on the afternoon of April 22, 1995 Witness No. 14 testified that about 12:30 p.m. on the day before he learned of the murders, he was in El Monte and saw defendant. They spoke for a few minutes, and defendant invited Witness No. 14 to a baptismal party in Montebello. Victor ―Mugsy‖ Jimenez, a Sangra street gang member, testified that in April 1995, he owned a blue Jeep. On April 22, 1995, at about 3:00 p.m., Jimenez drove to Anthony ―Scar‖ Torres‘s house. Torres borrowed Jimenez‘s Jeep to go purchase beer and was gone for about 10 to 15 minutes; Jimenez had previously told Los Angeles County Sheriff‘s Detective Stephen Davis, shortly after the murders, that Torres was gone with the Jeep for about 30 to 45 minutes. Jimenez estimated that driving from Torres‘s house to El Monte would take about 25 minutes each way. Witness No. 15 testified that after he was paroled on January 12, 1995, he and his brother, victim Anthony ―Dido‖ Moreno, spent every day together 5 procuring and injecting heroin. On April 22, 1995, Witness No. 15 and Anthony obtained money for heroin on three occasions by visiting a ―fence‖ named Hector in a barber shop located at Live Oak and Peck in Arcadia. After the first trip, Gustavo ―Tito‖ Aguirre joined Witness No. 15 and Anthony in injecting heroin at Anthony‘s home. Witness No. 15 explained that Aguirre ―stayed with my sister most of the time,‖ helping her with child care and household chores. Witness No. 15 and Anthony returned to Anthony‘s home from their third and final outing sometime between 2:15 and 3:00 p.m. Between 2:30 and 3:00 p.m., defendant and two clean cut men between the ages of 19 to 21, all dressed in blue jeans, T-shirts, and tennis shoes, came to Anthony‘s house. One of the men had an ―EMF‖ (El Monte Flores) gang tattoo. Witness No. 15 and Anthony spoke with defendant and his companions outside for 20 to 30 minutes. Defendant asked how they were doing and how the family was doing. He gave Witness No. 15 and Anthony each a quarter-gram of heroin; a quarter-gram was worth about $25 to $35. He also gave them his pager number and said if they needed anything to page him. Witness No. 15 found these gestures unusual because ―[o]ther people are not . . . that generous on . . . general principle.‖ During the conversation, Witness No. 15 could see two children playing in the yard about 10 feet away. The two men who had accompanied defendant did not speak but appeared to be ―casing out the location.‖ During the visit, victim Gustavo ―Tito‖ Aguirre hid from defendant in the bathroom. Witness No. 9 testified that on April 22, 1995 she lived at 3847 Maxson Road. That day at about noon or 1:00 p.m. she was outside her home having a garage sale. A blue Jeep and a second car parked at 3843 Maxson Road. No one got out of the Jeep, but four tall men with short hair and white shirts got out of the second car. The men entered the driveway of 3843 Maxson Road, and Witness 6 No. 9 lost sight of them. The men later returned to their car, and both the car and the Jeep left. Witness No. 8, who lived at 3849 Maxson Road, testified that on the afternoon of Saturday, April 22, 1995, sometime between noon and 2:00 p.m., she saw several people — many of whom had tattoos, and some of whom had shaved heads — in the backyard of 3843 Maxson Road. She had never seen any of these individuals before. Witness No. 11 testified that in April 1995 she also lived at 3849 Maxson Road. Around 12:30 p.m. on the day of the murders, for about 10 to 15 minutes she observed ―three guys‖ with victim Anthony ―Dido‖ Moreno and ―another friend of his‖ in the backyard of 3843 Maxson Road. Anthony was laughing and appeared to be joking around. The ―three guys‖ were ―kind of White.‖ She did not observe anything that appeared to be an exchange of drugs or money. Sangra gang member Anthony ―Scar‖ Torres told Los Angeles County Sheriff‘s Sergeant John Laurie that he went to the home of Anthony ―Dido‖ Moreno and Gustavo ―Tito‖ Aguirre ―earlier in the day‖ and gave the people at the house some heroin. He saw that there were children at the house and told the people at the house they would be back later that night to sell them some ―dope.‖ From Sergeant Laurie‘s investigation of this case, he believed that the heroin was given to Anthony Moreno, Aguirre, or Witness No. 15. Telephone records indicated that the telephone at the home of Jose ―Pepe‖ Ortiz was used to call defendant‘s pager number on April 22, 1995 at 10:51 a.m. and 12:20 p.m. 4) Events on the evening of April 22, 1995 Witness No. 14 testified that he arrived at the baptismal party between 8:00 and 9:00 p.m. with a girl named Denise. Defendant was paged and left the room. 7 When he returned, he asked Witness No. 14 for a ride. Witness No. 14 drove defendant and an individual named ―Diablo‖ to defendant‘s apartment in El Monte. They arrived at 9:00 or 9:30 p.m. and went inside for about 15 minutes. Defendant gave Witness No. 14 two half-gram pieces of heroin, telling him to keep one for himself and to give the other to ―someone when they got there.‖ They then went outside and stood by the street for nearly 10 minutes. A four-door black or dark-colored Nissan Maxima parked, and a man got out of the backseat. Defendant introduced the man as ―Character‖ from the Sangra gang, and in court Witness No. 14 identified this individual as Jimmy ―Character‖ Palma. Character told defendant ―he was going to take care of business. Not to worry about it.‖ He also said ―he was strapping. They were strapped. They were going to take care of business.‖ Being ―strapped‖ meant ―packing a gun.‖ Defendant told Witness No. 14 to give Character the heroin, and Witness No. 14 did so. Character then left in the Nissan. Defendant, Diablo, and Witness No. 14 then returned to the baptismal party. Witness No. 14 later directed Detective Davis to where the baptismal party had been held on Montebello Avenue in Montebello and also directed him to defendant‘s apartment on Rose Street. Detective Davis later determined that it took about 18 minutes to drive from the site of the party to defendant‘s apartment. Witness No. 14 also viewed Danny ―Tricky‖ Logan‘s blue Nissan Maxima at the Temple City sheriff‘s station and thought it looked similar to the car he had seen on April 22 in front of defendant‘s apartment. Witness No. 16, a Sangra gang member with Valdez, Torres, Logan, and Palma, testified he had been granted immunity from prosecution for murder in exchange for his testimony. On April 22, 1995, Witness No. 16 was driving with Palma, who said he would be receiving a page, and that Witness No. 16 would 8 have to drop him off at Torres‘s house. Palma explained he had to do a favor for the ―carnal,‖ which Witness No. 16 understood to be the Mexican Mafia. Later when it was dark, Palma received a page, and Witness No. 16 drove him to Torres‘s house. Torres, Logan, Valdez, Jose ―Pepe‖ Ortiz, and Witness No. 12 were there. (See post, at p. 19.) Ortiz made a telephone call, and then pagers started going off. Ortiz said that they needed an extra car to go to El Monte and ―take care of some business,‖ and Witness No. 16 volunteered. The men left in Witness No. 16‘s Thunderbird and a Nissan Maxima driven by Logan. Ortiz and Witness No. 12 rode with Witness No. 16, and Palma, Torres, and Valdez rode in the Nissan Maxima. Witness No. 16 was following Logan but lost sight of him at one point in El Monte. Less than a minute later, Witness No. 16 saw the Nissan pulled over on Rose Street. No one entered or exited the Nissan. Witness No. 16 pulled up behind the Nissan, and Logan then continued driving. They arrived at Maxson Road, and Ortiz directed Witness No. 16 to continue driving and to park on a different street. Witness No. 16 showed Detective Davis the route he took when he drove from Torres‘s house to Maxson Road on the night of the murders. Witness No. 16 indicated that it was in the area of the intersection of Rose and Shirley that he lost sight of the Nissan driven by Logan. Defendant lived at 10047 Rose, about a block from the intersection of Rose and Shirley. Witness No. 16 later saw the Nissan at the intersection of Baldwin and Rose. Witness No. 13, Anthony ―Scar‖ Torres‘s sister, testified, and a recording of her previous testimony was also played for the jury. On the evening of April 22, 1995, Witness No. 13 saw Torres and other Sangra gang members at her mother‘s house. When she left the house, she saw a brown Nissan Maxima parked in front. Later that night, Witness No. 13‘s mother came to her house and said that Torres 9 ―was acting weird,‖ that he was kissing her, hugging her, and saying that he loved her. He also said he was told to do something by the ―Mafia.‖ Several witnesses testified regarding circumstances surrounding the murders on the evening of April 22, 1995. Witness No. 3 saw Gustavo ―Tito‖ Aguirre run down the street and into the back of 3843 Maxson Road where the murders occurred. A four-door Nissan Maxima was driving near Aguirre as he ran, and stopped in front of 3843 Maxson Road. Witness No. 2 observed a Nissan Maxima that appeared to be two-tone brown (described as blue or light green by Witness No. 1) pull up across the street; three Hispanic men got out. The driver, who also appeared to be Hispanic, remained in the car. The men went straight to the back of the house and Witness No. 2 lost sight of them. He then heard 10 to 15 gunshots. The men returned to the car and drove away with the lights off. Immediately afterward, victim Maria Moreno‘s five- or six-year-old son Paul — his shirt soaked in blood — came to Witness No. 8‘s house and told her his family had been shot. She contacted police. Responding officers found the bodies of Anthony ―Dido‖ Moreno and Gustavo ―Tito‖ Aguirre. One was lying outside the side entrance to the house in a pool of blood and the other was inside the home, wedged between a bed and a wall, with one leg draped over the bed. Maria Moreno‘s body was lying on the living room floor, with what appeared to be a child‘s small bloody handprint on her back. The bodies of Maria‘s children, Laura Moreno and Ambrose Padilla, were on the floor near Maria. All three adults died from gunshot wounds to the head, Laura died from a gunshot wound to her chest, and Ambrose suffered a fatal gunshot wound to his right eye. After searching the residence for several minutes, officers found an unharmed little girl hiding in a corner, sobbing and trembling. 10 Telephone records indicated that the telephone at the home of Jose ―Pepe‖ Ortiz was used to call defendant‘s pager number on April 22, 1995 at 8:44 p.m. The telephone at the home of Elizabeth Torres, where Anthony ―Scar‖ Torres lived, was used to call defendant‘s pager number on April 22, 1995 at 9:21 p.m., 9:22 p.m., 9:30 p.m., 10:59 p.m., and 11:00 p.m. 5) Events after the murders Witness No. 16 testified that on the night of the murders, Jimmy ―Character‖ Palma said that he had ―killed the kids and the lady.‖ Valdez said he had ―shot two guys,‖ shooting the ―first guy in the head.‖ Palma said that ―when they went into the house . . . the people there thought that they were going to buy drugs and that [he] had shown them a rock of heroin and when the guy went to look at it, that is when [Valdez] shot him.‖ Torres said he stood by the door with a shotgun ―just watching out.‖ Witness No. 16 did not know defendant and never heard his name mentioned. After the murders, Anthony ―Scar‖ Torres told his mother that ―there weren‘t supposed to be any kids there.‖ Torres told his sister, Witness No. 13, that they were supposed to kill one guy, but if ―anybody got in the way, that they had to take care of them‖ and not leave witnesses. He also said that Palma had killed the children and that Sangra was going to take care of Palma for ―killing the babies.‖ Palma was convicted of the murders in this case and sentenced to death. He was later murdered on death row in San Quentin State Prison by other inmates. On the morning after the murders, Witness No. 15 asked Shyrock if he had anything to do with the murder of his family. Shyrock said he was sorry to hear about the murders on the news, denied having anything to do with them, and gave Witness No. 15 his condolences. Shyrock said if he had committed the murders, he ―would have done it in another fashion.‖ As to Gustavo ―Tito‖ Aguirre, 11 Shyrock said: ―That bastard. He was forcing me to kill him or do something to him so I don‘t feel bad about him dying.‖ The telephone at the home of Elizabeth Torres, where Anthony Torres lived, was used to call defendant‘s pager number on April 23, 1995 at 12:52 p.m. and 2:53 p.m. The telephone at the residence of Valerie Palma, where Jimmy Palma lived, was used to call defendant‘s pager on April 23, 1995 at 2:47 p.m., 2:48 p.m., and 2:57 p.m.