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Thread: Alfred Flores III - California Death Row

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    Alfred Flores III - California Death Row


    Alfred Flores III


    Facts of the Crime:

    The triple murder took place on March 19, 2001 as Flores was trying to expand his gang's territory into the Inland Empire; when three teenagers rejected his offer, they were shot to death. In April 2003, a jury convicted Flores of killing Rialto teens Ricardo Torres, 15; Jason Van Kleef, 18; and Alexander Ayala, 17. The jurors also voted for the death penalty, and relatives of the slain teens asked for the same. Flores, who glared at members of the audience and slouched in his chair, offered no statements and only laughed at demands for his execution. "Laugh all you want," said Torres' sister, Alejandra. "I hate you. We hate you," she said. Ayala's sister, Ruth Roybal, said Flores had the "heart of a coward, heart of a demon that came to kill and destroy."

    Prosecutors said they hope Flores' death sentence will close what they described as a violent criminal career. Flores, who was recruited into a gang at age 10, has confessed to killing a man who slept with his mother. He also played a role in the shooting of a former girlfriend and the stabbing of a youth counselor in the face with a pencil, according to prosecutors. Flores was described by authorities as a leader of an El Monte gang known for menacing the neighborhood. Just days before the killings, Flores went on a crime spree, holding up at least two restaurants at gunpoint and shooting and injuring a handful of bystanders, police said. He was accompanied by a fellow gang member, Andrew Mosqueda, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the crimes.

    Flores was officially sentenced to death in San Bernardino County by a judge on May 19, 2003.

  2. #2
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    Flores' case has been fully briefed on direct appeal before the California Supreme Court since January 21, 2015.

    http://appellatecases.courtinfo.ca.g...doc_no=S116307

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    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    On February 5, 2020, oral argument will be heard in Flores' direct appeal before the California Supreme Court.

    https://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/SFEB520.pdf

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    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Conviction, death sentence upheld for El Monte man in 2001 slayings of 3 Rialto teens

    The state Supreme Court has upheld the conviction and death sentence of an El Monte man who in 2001 killed 3 Rialto teens after they resisted efforts to join his gang, according to a ruling released Monday.

    In its ruling, by a 5-2 vote, the court set aside several challenges from Alfred Flores III, now 40 and housed on death row at San Quentin Prison. He was convicted and sentenced for the March 2001 slayings of Alexander Ayala, 17, Jason Van Kleef, 18, and Ricardo Torres, 15.

    “Quite frankly, I think Mr. Flores does fall into the category of the worst of the worst and thus deserving of the ultimate penalty of death,” San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge Ingrid Uhler said at the time of his May 2003 sentencing. “He has shown absolutely no remorse, as if he has no soul.”

    The teens were shot over a span of 36 hours and left dead along roads in Lytle Creek and Rialto.

    Flores shot the teens after they refused to join the branch of his El Monte gang that he was trying to establish in the Inland area, prosecutors said. They also knew about his criminal record, and might have gone to police, they said.

    The court noted Monday that the three slain teens were not members of the El Monte-based gang that Flores belonged to, that Van Kleef and Ayala “had no interest in gang membership,” and while Torres had agreed to join the gang, he had skipped his “jumping in” ceremony for admission.

    Among the appeal challenges raised by Flores’ attorney were the trial’s jury selection, the admission of firearm evidence and gang expert testimony, allegations of prosecutorial misconduct, sufficiency of evidence about two of the slayings, and a claim of a Miranda violation, all turned aside by the court majority.

    The Miranda issue Flores raised brought a dissent from Associate Justice Goodwin Liu. He said that he agreed with Flores’ convictions, but said his death sentence should have been overturned.

    Liu said he disagreed with the court majority’s finding that Flores’ casual “nah” was an “ambiguous” decline to discuss an uncharged slaying in Los Angeles County, which he eventually did admit to and described in detail to a Los Angeles police lieutenant. The Miranda Warning says an accused person has a right to remain silent.

    The Los Angeles County slaying was not mentioned in the evidence phase of the trial, but jurors heard about it when considering whether to vote for the death penalty. Associate Justice Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar agreed with Liu.

    (source: The Sun)
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    On March 18, 2020, Flores filed a habeas petition before the California Supreme Court.

    https://appellatecases.courtinfo.ca....hTUCAgCg%3D%3D

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    Moderator Bobsicles's Avatar
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    Petition for writ of certiorari filed to SCOTUS on September 9, 2020.

    https://www.supremecourt.gov/search....c/20-5734.html
    Thank you for the adventure - Axol

    Tried so hard and got so far, but in the end it doesn’t even matter - Linkin Park

    Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever. - Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt

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    Moderator Bobsicles's Avatar
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    Distributed for conference November 13, 2020.

    https://www.supremecourt.gov/search....c/20-5734.html
    Thank you for the adventure - Axol

    Tried so hard and got so far, but in the end it doesn’t even matter - Linkin Park

    Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever. - Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt

    I’m going to the ghost McDonalds - Garcello

  8. #8
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    On November 16, 2020, the United States Supreme Court DENIED Flores' certiorari petition.

    Lower Ct: Supreme Court of California
    Case Numbers: (S116307)
    Decision Date: May 4, 2020

    https://www.supremecourt.gov/search....c/20-5734.html

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