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Thread: Christopher Guy Jasso - California Death Row

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    Christopher Guy Jasso - California Death Row


    Christopher Guy Jasso


    Facts of the Crime:

    Christopher Guy Jasso was sentenced to death in Riverside County on January 8, 2010 for gunning down Carlos Rafael Cuellar Cardona, 30, on September 7, 2003. The cab driver was found with two bullet wounds to the head on Aztec Street about 12:30 that morning.

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    January 8, 2010

    Convicted Killer Gets Death Penalty

    A La Quinta man was sentenced to death Friday for fatally shooting an Indio cabbie in the head during a robbery that netted $80.

    Christopher Guy Jasso, 37, was convicted Dec. 1 of first-degree murder for gunning down Carlos Rafael Cuellar Cardona, 30, on Sept. 7, 2003. The cab driver was found with two bullet wounds to the head on Aztec Street about 12:30 that morning.

    Fabian Perez, 26, of Coachella, is also charged with murder in Cardona's killing. He will be tried separately.

    A seven-woman, five-man jury spent barely three hours deliberating in December before deciding to recommend Jasso receive the death penalty.

    Friday, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Richard Erwood ordered that Jasso be transferred to San Quentin State Prison, where he will await execution on death row.

    Before the judge pronounced the sentence, the victim's mother, Maria Cuellar, petitioned the judge in Spanish to ask Jasso if he felt remorse or has apologized for killing her son.

    "I'm not going to ask for comment from the defendant at this time," Erwood said.

    "OK, OK," Cuellar said before continuing to speak through a translator.

    "I thank God for being here on this day because I was waiting for this day from the first minute that I was told he had passed away," she said.

    Cuellar said she felt justice was served and asked the judge to make sure Jasso could not hurt any more innocent people.

    "I don't feel anything against (Jasso) because God is in charge of that," Cuellar said.

    Outside of court, Jasso's aunt, Carmen Jimenez, apologized to the victim's family and gave a tearful Cuellar a hug.

    "It's all in God's hands if it's His will, there is nothing we can do about it," Jimenez said about the death sentence. "We feel bad for the other side. I just want to say sorry."

    "What can we say. He took a life," she said.

    Deputy District Attorney Peter Nolan said the sentence was just.

    "It's never an easy decision to send someone to death row, but it was certainly the right decision in order to achieve justice," Nolan said.

    Jasso's attorneys were not available for comment.

    According to the prosecution, Cardona was working as a cabbie and dispatcher for Indio Yellow Cab.

    "He was a worker. He had a job at Macy's. He wanted a better job. He thought being a taxicab driver was the way to get there," said Deputy District Attorney Peter Nolan.

    The prosecutor argued that Jasso and Perez planned to rob the cabbie because they were "hard up for money."

    Cardona was meeting with friends at a cafe on Industrial Place in Indio when he received a call around 11:30 p.m. Sept. 6, 2003, to pick up a customer.

    The prosecutor argued that Jasso shot Cardona twice in the head -- once in the cab and then again in the street -- showing the murder was premeditated and intentional.

    He said shell casings found at the murder scene matched others at Jasso's home, and that Jasso's fingerprints were found in the cab.

    "Carlos Cardona deserved better. He did not deserve to die for 80 bucks," the prosecutor said.

    Deputy Public Defender O.G. Magno told the jury that Jasso grew up in poverty with an abusive father. He argued that his client robbed the cabbie to buy groceries for his family but did not intend to kill him.

    Jasso's sibling, himself a convicted murderer, testified that after his older brother had his own family, he still provided for their mother, sometimes by selling drugs or cashing bad checks. The family grew up in poverty in the Coachella Valley, he said.

    "He didn't do it to get rich, he did it to supply for his family," said George Luis Jasso Jr., who was convicted of murder in 2003 and is serving 50 years to life in prison.

    http://www.kpsplocal2.com/news/local....cspx?rss=2276

  3. #3
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    DA won't seek death for Fabian Florence Perez

    A Coachella man was the getaway driver in the robbery-motivated shooting death of an Indio cabbie, a prosecutor told jurors this week.

    Fabian Florence Perez, 30, is charged with murder and a special circumstance allegation of committing a murder during a robbery in the Sept. 7, 2003, death of 30-year-old Carlos Rafael Cuellar Cardona.

    The convicted triggerman, Christopher Guy Jasso, was sentenced to death in January 2010.

    Prosecutors on Tuesday announced they would not seek the death penalty for Perez for his alleged role in the murder.

    The night of the shooting, Jasso said he needed money, and Perez knew he was armed and intended to rob someone, Deputy District Attorney Pete Nolan told jurors.

    "The plan was Christopher Jasso would get in a cab and drive to a remote area and Fabian Perez was going to follow him," Nolan said in his opening statement, adding that Perez was driving a dark Nissan Maxima that night.

    "Christopher Jasso shot and killed Carlos Cardona, took his wallet and went to the waiting car," Nolan said.

    Police found Cardona lying on the street near Avenue 44 and Aztec Street in Indio, with two gunshot wounds to the head. The cab was at the end of the street with the engine running and blood spattered on the driver's-side window, Nolan said.

    "Carlos Cardona jumped out of the cab to save his own life," Nolan said, but was shot a second time at close range.

    He said Jasso handed Perez $100 and the gun and told him to get rid of the weapon.

    Perez's statements were consistent with what happened, the prosecutor said.

    http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/...perez/7242777/
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  4. #4
    Senior Member CnCP Legend JLR's Avatar
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    Counsel was appointed to represent Jasso on direct appeal on November 4, 2013.

    http://appellatecases.courtinfo.ca.g...doc_no=S179454

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    Fabian Florence Perez convicted in Indio cabbie killing

    INDIO – A Coachella man was convicted Wednesday in the robbery-motivated shooting death of an Indio cab driver.

    Fabian Florence Perez, 30, was found guilty of first-degree murder in the Sept. 7, 2003, death of 30-year-old Carlos Rafael Cuellar Cardona.

    Jurors also found true a special circumstance allegation of committing a murder during a robbery.

    Sentencing is set for May 7, according to court records.

    The convicted triggerman, Christopher Guy Jasso, was sentenced to death in January 2010. Prosecutors later announced that they would not seek the death penalty for Perez for his role in the killing.

    The night of the shooting, Jasso said he needed money, and Perez knew he was armed and intended to rob someone, Deputy District Attorney Pete Nolan told jurors.

    “The plan was Christopher Jasso would get in a cab and drive to a remote area and Fabian Perez was going to follow him,” Nolan said, adding that Perez was driving a dark Nissan Maxima that night.

    “Christopher Jasso shot and killed Carlos Cardona, took his wallet and went to the waiting car,” Nolan said.

    Police found Cardona lying on the street near Avenue 44 and Aztec Street in Indio, with two gunshot wounds to the head.

    The cab was at the end of the street with the engine running and blood spattered on the driver’s-side window, Nolan said.

    http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/...abbie/7537671/

  6. #6
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    Jasso's direct appeal has been fully briefed before the California Supreme Court since January 31, 2017.

    http://appellatecases.courtinfo.ca.g...doc_no=S179454

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