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Thread: Tokunbo Okuwoga Sentenced to LWOP in 2010 CA Triple Murder

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    Tokunbo Okuwoga Sentenced to LWOP in 2010 CA Triple Murder





    BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - A man charged in the 2010 killings of three people in their home has been determined mentally competent to stand trial.

    Tokunbo Okuwoga, 28, is charged with the murders of then 22-year-old Felipe Bravo Junior, his father Felipe senior, and Felipe Junior's girlfriend, Daina Caraveo.

    Okuwoga was committed to a term of no more than three years at Atascadero State Hospital last September.

    Court records indicated Okuwoga and Bravo Jr. robbed a home together in September of 2010 and Bravo agreed to testify against Okuwoga in the case. Police said Okuwoga shot Bravo to keep that from happening. Okuwoga had pleaded not guilty to all charges.

    Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty if Okuwoga is convicted. He is scheduled to return to court Monday. That's when a new trial date is scheduled to be set.

    http://www.kerngoldenempire.com/news...rial/662043411
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    Trial date set for accused triple murderer

    After more than six years in custody, including a couple of months in a state hospital where doctors determined he is competent, Tokunbo Okuwoga is scheduled to stand trial in October in the slayings of three people.

    Okuwoga, 28, is charged with murder in the shootings of Felipe Juarez Bravo Jr., 21, Bravo's live-in girlfriend, 22-year-old Daina Caraveo, and his father, Felipe Palacio Bravo, 43, in the 2000 block of Bradley Avenue near Valley Plaza.

    Okuwoga was arrested the day after the Sept. 22, 2010, killings as he boarded a bus to Los Angeles.

    He faces the death penalty if convicted.

    Deputy District Attorney Art Norris is the prosecutor handling the case. Okuwoga was represented by attorneys Michael C. Lukehart and Fred Gagliardini, but Lukehart retired earlier this month.

    Gagliardini said in court Monday he plans to bring in attorney Tony Lidgett as co-counsel on the case.

    Authorities say Okuwoga gunned down the victims to eliminate witnesses against him in a beating and attempted robbery case from a year earlier. Okuwoga, Anh Vu Bui, 24, and the younger Bravo were identified by police as suspects in the Sept. 23, 2009, brutal beating of Raul Zavala at Zavala’s home, police said in court filings.

    Bui was in the Bradley Avenue home at the time of the killings, but escaped being shot because he ran down a hall and hid in a closet, according to the filings. He later told police he heard Caraveo plead for her life and tell Okuwoga her children were in the house.

    The children, then 5 and 3, were later found unharmed, hiding under blankets in a bedroom where the bodies of Caraveo and Bravo Jr. were lying.

    Bui later pleaded no contest to assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury in the Zavala case and was sentenced to two years in prison.

    Okuwoga is next due in court May 30.

    http://www.bakersfield.com/news/tria...4edf2ce9d.html
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    Trial begins in 2010 Bakersfield triple homicide

    By Jason Kotowski
    KGET

    BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — A trial began Friday in the shooting deaths of three people in 2010, ending years of postponements during which attorneys came and went and the accused killer spent time in a state hospital.

    Tokunbo Okuwoga is charged with three counts of murder, among other offenses, in the slayings of Felipe Bravo Jr., 22, Bravo’s father, Felipe Bravo Sr., 43, and the younger man’s girlfriend, Daina Caraveo, 22.

    Okuwoga, 32, faces life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted. He sat hunched forward in the courtroom, rocking back and forth throughout the proceedings.

    It’s alleged Okuwoga shot Bravo Jr. to prevent him from testifying against him in connection with an attempted robbery they committed the year before. A third accomplice in the attempted robbery was in the house in the 2000 block of Bradley Avenue when the shooting occurred but ran and hid in a closet, according to court filings.

    That man, Anh Vu Bui, will testify Okuwoga was angry because he believed Bui had been talking with law enforcement, prosecutor Eric Smith said in his opening statement. Smith said the killings are directly tied to the 2009 attempted robbery because Okuwoga wanted to eliminate anyone who could place him at the earlier crime.

    Smith said Bravo Jr. and Caraveo were executed the night of Sept. 22, 2010, both shot by the ear. Bravo Sr. also received a gunshot wound to the head.

    Caraveo’s children, 2 and 5, were in the house at the time. They were unharmed, lying under blankets in the room where the bodies of Caraveo and Bravo Jr. were found, court filings said. Bravo Sr. was alive when police found him in another room but died a short time later.

    Okuwoga immediately fled to Fresno after the killings and was arrested the next day as he boarded a bus to Los Angeles, Smith said.

    Gary Turnbull, Okuwoga’s attorney, reserved his opening statement until after the prosecution has finished presenting its case.

    Okuwoga was previously represented by attorneys Michael C. Lukehart and Fred Gagliardini. They have since retired.

    https://www.kget.com/news/crime-watc...iple-homicide/

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    Suspect’s former friend testifies in 2010 triple homicide; defense claims the friend committed the killings

    By Jason Kotowski
    KGET

    BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Three men snuck into a Bakersfield home in 2009 and beat a man unconscious before searching the house for valuables.

    Felipe Bravo Jr., 22, one of the men alleged to have taken part in the attempted robbery, was shot dead the next year with his father and girlfriend.

    Another, Tokunbo Okuwoga, is accused of killing them.

    And the third, Anh Vu Bui, took the witness stand Monday to testify against Okuwoga, his former friend and alleged partner in crime.

    Prosecutors say Okuwoga carried out the killings in an attempt to eliminate any witnesses to the attempted robbery. The defense says Bui committed the killings.

    Okuwoga, 32, is charged with three counts of murder, among other offenses. His trial is in its second day, and he faces life without the possibility of parole if convicted.

    Bui acknowledged accompanying Okuwoga and Bravo to the attempted robbery in 2009. He said he doesn’t know why he went along other than wanting to help his friends.

    Bui testified he held the homeowner as Okuwoga beat the man. They fled soon afterward, but prosecutors say they left an important piece of evidence behind: a hat with DNA evidence connecting Bui and Okuwoga to the crime.

    Police questioned Bui, who then told Bravo that detectives had contacted him. Bui said Bravo didn’t seem concerned.

    Okuwoga, however, was afraid either Bui or Bravo were cooperating with law enforcement, Bui testified.

    On Sept. 22, 2010, Bui and another friend went to a house in the 2000 block of Bradley Avenue to hang out with Bravo and his girlfriend, Daina Caraveo, 22. Bravo’s father, Felipe Bravo Sr., 43, was also in the home, as were Caraveo’s two children, ages 2 and 5.

    Bui testified he was watching TV when Okuwoga arrived and said he wanted to speak with Bravo Jr. Okuwoga seemed “shaky” and nervous, Bui said.

    Okuwoga and Bravo spoke in the kitchen about the police investigation. Okuwoga expressed concerns that one of them was “snitching” on him, Bui said.

    “Did that make you nervous?” prosecutor Eric Smith asked.

    “A little bit,” Bui said.

    The front door to the house was partly open, Bui said. He noticed several shadows heading up the driveway so he shut and locked the door. Okuwoga then either struck or pushed him, Bui said, and he ran toward a hallway.

    As he ran, he saw a gun in Okuwoga’s hand, Bui testified. Then he heard “a lot of shots.”

    Bui said he hid in a bedroom until the shooting was over. He and the friend he’d arrived with then ran from the house.

    During cross-examination, defense attorney Gary Turnbull disputed Bui’s account, arguing Bui was the shooter.

    “You argued with Bravo (Jr.), didn’t you?” Turnbull asked. Bui said he and Bravo Jr. never argued.

    “You did the shooting, didn’t you?” Turnbull continued.

    Bui said he had no idea what the attorney was talking about. Turnbull ended his questioning shortly afterward. .

    Bravo Jr., Bravo Sr. and Caraveo died from gunshot wounds. The two children were unharmed, found hiding under blankets in the room where the bodies of Bravo Jr. and Caraveo were located.

    Police arrested Okuwoga the next day at a bus station in Fresno. He has been in custody since 2010 during which his case has experienced multiple delays and attorneys have come and gone.

    Bui said he accepted what Turnbull called a “sweetheart deal” in which he agreed to testify against Okuwoga and enter a no contest plea to assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury in connection with the attempted robbery. Five other felony charges were dismissed.

    The criminal history of Bui includes convictions for vehicle theft, petty theft, drug transportation and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

    https://www.kget.com/news/crime-watc...homicide-case/

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    Teen who was 5 when she witnessed mother’s shooting testifies in triple homicide case

    By Jason Kotowski
    KGET

    BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — It’s been more than a decade since 15-year-old Sharae Brown witnessed the deadly shooting of her mother, but certain details remain etched in her mind.

    She testified Tuesday there were loud noises in the house and her mother, who was in the same room with Brown and her sister, opened the door and said, “Don’t do this in front of my girls.”

    Brown then heard a gunshot and saw her mother fall to the side. The room was dark but there was light coming from the hall, revealing a tall, slim silhouette in the doorway.

    “I couldn’t really see them, all I know is they were dark and had big eyes,” she said.

    Prosecutors say that person was Tokunbo Okuwoga. They allege he killed Brown’s mother and two men in an effort to eliminate witnesses to an attempted robbery he had participated in a year earlier.

    Okuwoga, 32, is charged with three counts of murder in the deadly shooting of Daina Caraveo and Felipe Bravo Jr., both 22, and Bravo’s father, Felipe Bravo Sr., 43. He faces life without parole if convicted.

    Brown’s testimony came on the third day of what’s estimated will be a nine-day trial.

    Brown told the court she fell asleep the night of Sept. 22, 2010, while watching a movie with her 2-year-old sister and Caraveo, her mother, in their home on Bradley Avenue. The then-5-year-old awoke to loud noises heard the raised voice of her stepfather, Bravo Jr., she said.

    Bravo Jr.’s voice rapidly approached her room then there was pounding on the door, Brown said. Caraveo opened it.

    While she doesn’t recall Bravo getting shot, Brown said she clearly remembers watching as her mother was shot and fell. She and her sister then hid under a blanket with their backs to a couch or bed.

    She called her grandmother. The call was on speakerphone and the person in the doorway mocked her grandmother’s voice, Brown said. She said he spoke to another person in the hallway.

    “There’s someone else in this room, I hear them,” Brown testified the person in the doorway said.

    The other person said there was no one else in the room. The person in the doorway looked inside a little longer but never turned on the light, Brown said. He left.

    Later, after her grandmother arrived and took her and her sister from the room, Brown saw the bodies of her mother and stepfather.

    Bravo Sr. was found shot in another room of the house, police said.

    Okuwoga, Bravo Jr. and another man, Anh Vu Bui, participated in an attempted robbery the year before the killings, prosecutor Eric Smith has said.

    Bui, who was also in the house during the shooting, testified Monday that Okuwoga had been concerned either he or Bravo Jr. had been cooperating with law enforcement. Both Bui and Okuwoga had been questioned in connection with the attempted robbery.

    Okuwoga appeared “shaky” and nervous when he arrived at the Bradley Avenue home the night of the killings, Bui said. He later saw a gun in Okuwoga’s hand and heard “a lot of shots” but testified he didn’t actually witness the shooting because he was too busy running. He said he hid in a closet until the gunfire ended then ran from the house.

    Defense attorney Gary Turnbull has argued Bui was the shooter, not Okuwoga. Bui denied that assertion under cross-examination.

    Police arrested Okuwoga in Fresno the day after the shooting as he prepared to board a bus to Los Angeles. He has been held either in jail or state hospitals since that day, having previously been found incompetent to stand trial but later being restored to competency.

    The trial continues Wednesday.

    https://www.kget.com/news/crime-watc...homicide-case/
    Last edited by Steven; 05-19-2021 at 05:25 AM.

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    Jury hears closing arguments in 2010 triple homicide

    By Jason Kotowski
    KGET

    BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Tokunbo Okuwoga brutally beat a man during an attempted robbery in 2009 then killed three people a year later to eliminate witnesses he believed would testify against him, a prosecutor said.

    The evidence points to Okuwoga as the gunman who opened fire inside a home on Bradley Avenue, leaving behind two bodies and a wounded man who died days later, prosecutor Eric Smith told the jury Wednesday during his closing argument.

    Defense lawyer Gary Turnbull said Okuwoga is guilty of attempted robbery but not murder or attempted murder. He said witness testimony indicates another, unidentified man was in the house the night of the shooting.

    That man committed the killings, not Okuwoga, Turnbull said.

    Both sides finished their closing arguments Wednesday afternoon and the jury began deliberating about 2:45 p.m.

    Okuwoga, 32, is charged with three counts of murder, among other offenses. He faces life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted.

    He wore restraints throughout the trial. Judge John W. Lua told the jury they were not to infer anything from the restraints, and the defense said Okuwoga had them on for his own safety.

    The decade-long delay from the time of Okuwoga’s arrest to his trial is partly due to him previously being found incompetent to stand trial. He was sent to a state hospital and restored to competency.

    As he went over the evidence presented at trial, Smith noted Okuwoga’s shoes had one of the victims’ blood on them. Witnesses testified Okuwoga was inside the home and armed with a gun before the shooting occurred. Police arrested Okuwoga the next day at a bus station in Fresno, where he had a ticket to San Diego.

    Smith said Okuwoga planned to flee to Mexico to avoid capture.

    The case has its origins in an attempted robbery that occurred Sept. 23, 2009, the prosecutor said.

    On that day, Okuwoga, Felipe Bravo Jr. and Anh Vu Bui snuck into a home on Ginger Lane where Okuwoga assaulted the homeowner and the other men ransacked the house for valuables, Smith said. DNA testing of a glove left behind at the house led police to Okuwoga and Bui.

    Detectives questioned the two. Okuwoga suspected Bui and possibly even Bravo told police about his involvement.

    Okuwoga is an associate of the Eastside Crips, Smith said, and to a gang member’s way of thinking there is no act more reprehensible than “snitching.” Someone who cooperates with police is expected to be dealt with, the attorney said.

    Okuwoga didn’t hire an attorney when it came to fighting the attempted robbery case, Smith said. He decided to settle it by himself, with a gun.

    “His method of fighting a case is to eliminate all the witnesses and people who know what happened that day (in the attempted robbery),” Smith said.

    On the night of Sept. 22, 2010, Okuwoga arrived at the Bradley Avenue home and fatally shot Felipe Bravo Jr. and Daina Caraveo, both 22, at close range, killing both, Smith said. He also shot Felipe Bravo Sr., 43. He died days later at a hospital.

    Bui, who was at the home, testified Okuwoga showed up and began questioning Bravo Jr. about the police investigation. While they talked, Bui noticed the front door had been left open. He walked to the door and saw shadows coming up the driveway.

    Bui shut the door and Okuwoga either hit or shoved him, according to Bui’s testimony. Bui said he ran down a hallway then heard “a lot of gunshots.” He said he hid in a closet, then escaped with a friend who was also at the house. He said they ran until a car picked them up.

    Caraveo’s two children, ages 3 and 5, were in the house at the time. The 5-year-old, now a teen, testified she witnessed her mother’s shooting and described the shooter as skinny, Black and tall with big eyes.

    That describes the 6-foot-2 and slim Okuwoga as seen in photos and video from 2010, Smith told the jury.

    The teen, Sharae Brown, testified she heard another man in the hallway after the shooting. Other witnesses, including Bui, indicated at least one other person had entered the home.

    The unidentified man was the shooter, Turnbull argued. He acknowledged Okuwoga participated in the attempted robbery and deserves to be found guilty of the charges stemming from that case.

    But his client’s not a killer, Turnbull said.

    After the shooting, Okuwoga went to his girlfriend’s house, according to testimony. The girlfriend admitted to getting rid of his clothing and shoes but didn’t provide an explanation why.

    The shoes were recovered by police. Bloodstains on them were tested and determined to have come from Bravo Jr., according to testimony.

    The girlfriend took Okuwoga to his sister’s house, and he was then driven to Fresno, Smith said. When arrested at an Amtrak bus station, Okuwoga had another man’s identification on him and a ticket with a final destination of San Diego.

    https://www.kget.com/news/crime-watc...iple-homicide/

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    Tokunbo Okuwoga convicted on three counts of murder for 2010 homicides

    The Bakersfield Californian

    A Kern County jury convicted Tokunbo Okuwoga on three counts of first degree murder on Thursday.

    Okuwoga was found guilty of murdering Felipe Bravo Jr., Daina Caraveo and Felipe Bravo Sr. on Sept. 22, 2010. He was also convicted of robbery and burglary counts that stemmed from an incident that occurred Sept. 23, 2009.

    He faces multiple life without parole sentences.

    “Ensuring that violent criminals are held accountable is vital to public safety,” District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer said in a statement. “The three first-degree murder convictions in this triple murder case should result in multiple sentences of life without the possibility of parole.”

    According to the District Attorney’s Office, Okuwoga arrived at a Bradley Street residence to confront Bravo Sr. over alleged “snitching” Okuwoga believed Bravo Sr. and another individual had committed regarding a prior robbery. After the discussion, the DA says Okuwoga struck one person, drew a gun and began firing.

    Okuwoga is scheduled to be sentenced on June 25.

    https://www.bakersfield.com/news/bre...91a987408.html

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    Bakersfield man sentenced to life without parole for 2010 triple murder

    By Jason Kotowski
    KGET

    Okuwoga on Friday was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

    https://www.kget.com/news/crime-watc...iple-homicide/

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