Opinion ID: 2634864
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: The Murder of Jose Gutierrez, January 21, 1990

Text: Beatriz Escamilla, who testified regarding the shooting at the Rita Motel, also testified regarding defendant's involvement in the shooting death of Jose Gutierrez at the Mazatlan Bar, located in Compton, at approximately 12:40 a.m. on January 21, 1990. Escamilla, who was employed at the bar as a cashier, was not working on that occasion, instead having gone there to drink some beers, and had been there for several hours prior to the shooting. Defendant was sitting at a table, drinking beer. Escamilla chatted with defendant, who did not appear to be drunk; on cross-examination, she acknowledged having offered to take some beers to him, to which defendant replied, No, I will go get them myself. Shortly after midnight, defendant walked from his table to the cashier behind the bar, and requested more beer. At approximately the same time, the young man who died, he came out of that other corner to ask for beers. This young guy got close to [defendant], and [the victim] went directly to [defendant] and started offending him.... The man started to ask [defendant] if he had a pistol, to take it out and use it; and he started insulting him, you know, his mother. And Lino told him to calm down, that he didn't want any problems. He said [that] to him two or three times. And that's what happened with that young man. [8] Escamilla testified defendant repeatedly shot the man in the back, from a distance of approximately four feet. She did not see the victim attempt to grab or stab defendant or to hold a weapon, nor did he see a weapon fall to the ground. On cross-examination, Escamilla further testified: I just looked at Lino. I was not able to see the victim. On seeing the pistol in his hand, what was I going to do? Again, turn around and look at him, not the victim. He was about to do something. Asked if she was looking at defendant when the first shot was fired, the witness responded affirmatively. Adela Lopez (occasionally referred to in the record as Adela Lopez Ontiveros) was employed as a bartender, waitress, and cashier at the Mazatlan Bar on the night of the shooting. She testified that defendant sat with two or three guys ... in the back of the bar. Lopez was familiar with defendant from his previous visits, recalling that he used to go there all the time, and that on this occasion, he had arrived at the bar approximately 20 minutes prior to the shooting. In response to the prosecutor's inquiry whether she saw defendant stand up at his table and appear to have a gun underneath his shirt, Lopez testified: No. When I see  him I look because he was already shooting that person.... He arrived [at the bar] and touched the [victim], and the next thing I know he shot. He fired. After the first shot was fired, the victim was thrown on the floor, and defendant kept right on firing. In response to the prosecutor's inquiry as to what the victim had been doing at the bar, Lopez replied: He was asleep.... That person was asleep.... I didn't see the guy who fell down say anything. Asked whether she saw the victim holding any weapon at all, Lopez testified: No.... That man had been leaning against the bar asleep for at least two hours. Lopez further testified that immediately after the shooting, [defendant] went out through the door. He left. And he left with a pistol in his hand and then the security went after him with their pistol[s] out. Lopez identified defendant as the shooter in a pretrial photographic lineup and at trial. On cross-examination, Lopez testified that immediately prior to the shooting, she saw defendant grab the victim without exchanging any words. She looked away, heard the first shot, and then I just looked and saw the guy on the floor, and I watched [defendant] keep on shooting him. She acknowledged leaving the bar just as the police arrived, and without speaking to the investigating officers. Stoney Jackson, a police officer employed by City of Compton, testified that he arrived at the crime scene shortly after the shooting and observed the victim's body lying on the floor, bearing multiple gunshot wounds. He recovered four shell casings, described as .38-caliber super autos, that likely were fired from the same firearm. He also identified certain beer containers that had been collected for fingerprint evidence. Dwight Dobbin, a Compton Police Department investigator, testified that a left thumbprint lifted from a Budweiser can collected from the Mazatlan Bar during the investigation matched defendant's. Dr. Rogers testified regarding the autopsy performed on the body of Jose Gutierrez. He described the cause of death as multiple gunshot wounds to the back. The victim's body had a blood-alcohol content of .30 percent, as well as a small amount of a cocaine-related substance, benzoylecgonine.