Opinion ID: 2525107
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Navarette murder

Text: At approximately 8:00 p.m. on January 3, 1990, Aguilar and Alonzo were assembled at Pico Boulevard and Wilton Avenue with fellow gang members Juan Velasquez and Mauricio Soriano. Defendant, driving a red truck, arrived and stated he had just seen the Crazy Riders' white Toyota on Pico Boulevard. Aguilar, Alonzo, Velasquez and Soriano entered defendant's truck. Aguilar brought a double-barreled shotgun with him, and the 18th Street Gang members set off to find the Crazy Riders. Defendant drove eastward on Pico Boulevard. Defendant stated, There they are. Defendant accelerated and changed lanes so his truck was adjacent to the Toyota, on its left. Two shots were fired from the shotgun. After the shooting, defendant turned the truck and drove northbound on Kingsley Drive. The white car in question was not the Toyota belonging to the Crazy Riders, but a Datsun driven by decedent Pedro Navarette, whose passenger at the time was his brother, Rudolfo Rivera. Navarette was not a rival gang member. The beginning of Navarette's license plate number read 2MTY. Navarette fell on the steering wheel after the second shot was fired; the car drove onto the sidewalk and crashed into a wall. Rivera heard the truck passengers' voices after the second shot, but he could not understand what they were saying. The cause of death was a shotgun wound to the head. Defendant was first questioned on January 22, 1990. He stated he had heard nothing about a shooting at Pico Boulevard and Kingsley Drive of a car with a license plate beginning with 2MTY. On February 13, 1990, defendant signed a statement in which he admitted he drove the truck during the shooting. Defendant stated Velasquez requested a ride to Normandie Avenue, and defendant obliged; Soriano, Alonzo and Aguilar also traveled as passengers. A car resembling the one that belonged to the Crazy Riders was also driving eastbound on Pico Boulevard. Defendant suddenly heard a loud bang, and the car window cracked. Defendant stated he looked in his mirror and saw Velasquez holding a shotgun. Defendant had not formerly known that Velasquez was armed. Detective Michael Bercham described defendant as a hard-core gang member. Defendant had 18th Street Gang tattoos all over his body. After his arrest on January 21, and interview on January 22, 1990, he added a tattoo over his eye that depicted the number 187, the California Penal Code section proscribing murder.