Results 1 to 10 of 10

Thread: Lares and Sambrano Sentenced to LWOP in 2005 Drive By Shooting of Vanessa Torres

  1. #1
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    33,217

    Lares and Sambrano Sentenced to LWOP in 2005 Drive By Shooting of Vanessa Torres

    Two gang members accused of killing a young woman in a 2005 drive-by attack in Indio were targeting rivals when they allegedly shot the victim, a prosecutor said today.

    But an attorney for one defendant said his client acted out of self-defense.

    Anthony Lares and Jessie Sambrano, both 24, could face the death penalty if convicted in the Aug. 12, 2005, drive-by shooting that killed 19-year-old Vanessa Torres and wounded several others, including three children.

    They are charged with one count each of first-degree murder and shooting at an occupied dwelling, and two counts each of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon, along with a special circumstance allegation of killing for the benefit of a criminal street gang.

    Deputy District Attorney Rodney Tethal told jurors in his opening statement that as Torres was leaving a family gathering at 83062 Ruby St. with her boyfriend, Lares and another gang member, Daniel Torres, 24, opened fire from a vehicle that Sambrano was driving.

    "They saw an old enemy in the area of the North Side Indio Gang, and the Indio gangs and Coachella gangs are violent rivals," the prosecutor said.

    According to Tethal, the defendants are affiliated with the VCR 52 street gang.

    Lares' attorney, John Patrick Dolan, told jurors that his client and the other two young men had driven from Coachella to Indio in search of a house party.

    As Sambrano stopped the car to see whether he had the right address for the party, gunfire erupted, and Lares opened fire to defend himself, according to Dolan.

    "They didn't plan on shooting anybody," the defense attorney said. "All they planned to do was go to a party. When they were attacked, all they wanted to do was get out of there."

    Dolan said Lares was high on marijuana, had taken Ecstasy and drank beer before being driven to Indio in his silver Ford Taurus.

    Daniel Torres, who is not related to the victim, will be tried separately, probably sometime this summer.

    The current trial, which would include a death penalty phase if the jury finds the special circumstance allegations to be true, could last through the end of June.

    All three defendants are being held without bail. They have been in custody since August 2005.

    http://www.mydesert.com/article/2011...xt|Frontpage|p

  2. #2
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    33,217
    Sheriff's sergeant takes stand in Indio gang slaying trial

    A sheriff's investigator who took the stand Monday in the trial of two of three suspected gang members charged in a 2005 fatal shooting in Indio testified that he found the two guns linked to the attack that left a 19-year-old woman dead.

    Sheriff's Sgt. Mark Hamilton told jurors he found the guns — an assault rifle and a handgun — while searching the bedroom of one of three defendants.

    Anthony Lares, 24, and Jessie Sambrano, 25, could face the death penalty if convicted of charges stemming from the Aug. 12, 2005, shooting that killed Vanessa Torres and seriously wounded her boyfriend.

    They are both charged with one count each of first-degree murder and shooting at an occupied dwelling, six counts of attempted murder and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, along with a special circumstance allegation of killing for the benefit of a criminal street gang.

    Co-defendant Daniel Torres, 24, who is not related to the fatally wounded victim, will be tried separately, probably this summer.

    Hamilton testified that, while serving a second search warrant at Torres' home in Coachella, he found the assault rifle and .44-caliber handgun under the suspect's bed. The handgun was loaded with five rounds, and a full clip lay next to the assault rifle, which was unloaded, he said.

    Deputy District Attorney Rodney Tethal said in his opening statement that those two weapons were used in the shooting on Ruby Street.

    He said the defendants were targeting a rival gang, while Lares' attorney maintains his client acted out of self-defense.

    The prosecutor claims that as Jessica Torres was leaving a family gathering at 83062 Ruby St. with her boyfriend, Lares and Daniel Torres opened fire from a vehicle that Sambrano was driving.

    “They saw an old enemy in the area of the North Side Indio Gang, and the Indio gangs and Coachella gangs are violent rivals,” the prosecutor said earlier. According to Tethal, the defendants are affiliated with the VCR 52 gang.

    Hamilton testified Monday that the clip and other items he found in Torres' room were adorned with initials of that gang.

    Lares' attorney, John Patrick Dolan, previously told jurors his client and the other two defendants had driven from Coachella to Indio in search of a house party.

    As Sambrano stopped the car to see whether he had the right address for the party, gunfire erupted and Lares opened fire to defend himself, Dolan said.

    “They didn't plan on shooting anybody,” the defense attorney said earlier. “All they planned to do was go to a party. When they were attacked, all they wanted to do was get out of there.”

    Dolan said Lares was high on marijuana, had taken Ecstasy and drank beer before being driven to Indio in his silver Ford Taurus.

    Tethal said the impromptu party on Ruby Street was being thrown because the brother of Vanessa Torres' boyfriend, Jacob Rodriguez, was visiting from Northern California.

    Rodriguez, along with two other adults and three children all under age 12, came under fire from the trio, who had driven by the home several times that night, according to the prosecution.

    Jacob Rodriguez was hospitalized for about a month for a gunshot wound to his abdomen. Vanessa Torres was hit by three bullets about 9:15 p.m., with the fatal shot traveling through her lower back in an upward direction, Tethal said.

    “(The car) stops and ... then the hail of gunfire began,” Tethal said. “As the car drives off, people are screaming, people are crying, people are dying.”

    According to Dolan, the three men had previously stopped at a nearby home, where they thought a party Lares had been invited to a week earlier was taking place. After finding no one there, they drove by the home on Ruby Street a few times and stopped to see if that party was the one they were seeking, he said.

    Lares owned and carried a rifle because he lived in a violence-prone area.

    “He bought the weapon to go out and protect himself in case (violence breaks out),” Dolan said. “There is an invariable reality that there is the potential for violence at every party that takes place in the east end of the valley.”

    Dolan told the jury the bullet that killed Vanessa Torres went through her body at an upward angle, meaning it must have ricocheted off the ground, showing that those in the car were not directing fire at anyone.

    The trial for Lares and Sambrano, which will include a penalty phase if the jury finds the special circumstance allegations to be true, could last through the end of June.

    All three defendants were arrested about two weeks after the shooting, when Lares was pulled over for a traffic stop and officers found shell casings in the back of his car.

    http://www.mydesert.com/article/2011...text|Frontpage

  3. #3
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    33,217
    INDIO (Wire Service) - One of three men facing capital punishment for allegedly killing an Indio woman in a drive-by attack is expected to take the stand today.

    Anthony Lares and Jessie Sambrano are on trial for charges stemming from the Aug. 12, 2005, shooting that left a 19-year-old dead. A third man is awaiting trial.

    Once the prosecution rests its case today, Lares will testify, most likely at 1:30 p.m., his attorney John Patrick Dolan said.

    Lares, 24, and Sambrano, 25, could face the death penalty if convicted of charges stemming from a shooting that killed Vanessa Torres and seriously wounded her boyfriend, Jacob Rodriguez.

    Both defendants are charged with one count each of first-degree murder and shooting at an occupied dwelling, six counts of attempted murder and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, along with a special circumstance

    allegation of killing for the benefit of a criminal street gang.

    Co-defendant Daniel Torres, 24, who is not related to the fatally wounded victim, will be tried separately, probably this summer.

    In a videotaped interview played by prosecutors earlier in the trial, Lares told police investigators he fired a handgun because he heard sounds that concerned him.

    "It wasn't my intention to hit nobody," Lares told the detectives.

    On Monday, Indio police Sgt. Chris Hamilton testified that, while serving a second search warrant in Torres' bedroom at his Coachella residence as a member of the county's gang task force, he found the two guns linked to

    the shooting.

    Deputy District Attorney Rodney Tethal told jurors in his opening statement that those weapons -- an assault rifle and .44-caliber handgun -- were used in the shooting on Ruby Street.

    He said the defendants were targeting a rival gang, while Lares' attorney maintains his client acted out of self-defense.

    Lares is heard in the videotaped interview telling investigators that he had purchased the handgun on the street four months prior to the shooting for $150 in order "to protect himself."

    The prosecution alleges that as Jessica Torres and Rodriguez were leaving a family gathering at 83062 Ruby St., Lares and Daniel Torres opened fire from a vehicle that Sambrano was driving.

    "They saw an old enemy in the area of the North Side Indio Gang, and the Indio gangs and Coachella gangs are violent rivals," Tethal said in his opening statement.

    According to Tethal, the defendants are affiliated with the VCR 52 gang. Hamilton testified that the clip and other items he found in Torres' room were adorned with initials of that gang.

    Dolan told jurors in his opening statement that his client and the other two defendants had driven from Coachella to Indio in search of a house party.

    As Sambrano stopped the car to see whether he had the right address for the party, gunfire erupted, and Lares opened fire to defend himself, according to Dolan.

    "They didn't plan on shooting anybody," the defense attorney said earlier. "All they planned to do was go to a party. When they were attacked, all they wanted to do was get out of there."

    According to Dolan, Lares was high on marijuana, had taken Ecstasy and drank beer before being driven to Indio in his silver Ford Taurus.

    Tethal said the impromptu party on Ruby Street was thrown because Rodriguez's brother was in town from Northern California.

    Rodriguez, along with two other adults and three children all under 12 years old came under fire from the trio, who had driven by the home several times that night, according to the prosecution.

    Rodriguez was hospitalized for about a month for a gunshot wound to his abdomen. Vanessa Torres was hit by three bullets, with the fatal shot traveling through her lower back in an upward direction, Tethal said.

    "(The car) stops and ... then the hail of gunfire began," Tethal said earlier. "As the car drives off, people are screaming, people are crying, people are dying."

    According to Dolan, the three men had previously stopped at a nearby home, where they thought a party Lares had been invited to a week earlier was taking place. After finding no one there, they drove by the residence on Ruby

    Street a few times and stopped to see if that party was the one they were seeking, he said.

    Lares "bought the weapon to go out and protect himself in case (violence breaks out)," Dolan said. "There is an invariable reality than there is the potential for violence at every party that takes place in the east end of the Valley."

    The trial for Lares and Sambrano, which will include a penalty phase if the jury finds the special circumstance allegations to be true, could last through the end of June.

    All three defendants were arrested about two weeks after the shooting, when Lares was pulled over for a traffic stop and officers found shell casings in the back of his car.

    http://www.myvalleynews.com/story/56314/

  4. #4
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    33,217
    Suspect in drive-by says vehicle was shot at first

    One of three men charged in a fatal Indio drive-by attack testified Monday that he heard gunshots before he fired his assault rifle on a family party.

    Anthony Lares, 24, and Jesse Sambrano, 25, could face the death penalty if convicted of charges stemming from the Aug. 12, 2005, shooting that killed 19-year-old Vanessa Torres and seriously wounded her boyfriend.

    Both defendants are charged with one count each of first-degree murder and shooting at an occupied dwelling, six attempted murder counts and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, along with a special circumstance allegation of killing for the benefit of a criminal street gang.

    Co-defendant Daniel Torres, 24, who is not related to Vanessa Torres, will be tried separately, probably this summer.

    Lares testified Monday that he heard three or four gunshots and “saw a flash” while he and his two friends were driving in an Indio neighborhood trying to find a party to which they had been invited.

    “I was scared, and I reacted. I thought I was getting shot at,” said Lares, who said he fired 10 shots into the air. “I was trying to shoot to where I could scare them and they would stop shooting at me.”

    Lares, who denied being a Coachella-based VCR 52 gang member, said he purchased the weapon five months earlier to protect himself in case violence broke out at events he attended.

    “I always keep something with me as protection,” Lares said. “I had a few friends who died because of gunshot wounds. That was scary to me, and I don't want to die. I don't want to get caught without a gun.”

    Deputy District Attorney Rodney Tethal has said that Lares, Torres — who allegedly fired a handgun — and driver Sambrano were targeting an Indio gang in the shooting on Ruby Street.

    Tethal is expected to cross-examine Lares this morning.
    Hoping for a good time

    Lares, who was riding in a rear passenger seat, said he and his friends were in the Indio neighborhood searching for a party he had been invited to by a girl he met a week earlier. He said Sambrano drove around the neighborhood several times looking for the party.

    http://www.mydesert.com/article/2011...cle-shot-first

  5. #5
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    33,217
    Prosecutor links fatal Indio drive-by to gang activity

    A group of three men carried out a fatal drive-by attack on a family gathering in Indio because they were upset that their territory had been tagged by a rival gang, a prosecutor told jurors Wednesday.

    Anthony Lares, 24, and Jesse Sambrano, 25, could both face the death penalty if convicted of the Aug. 12, 2005, shooting that killed 19-year-old Vanessa Torres and wounded her boyfriend.

    Co-defendant Daniel Torres, 24, who is not related to Vanessa Torres, will be tried separately, probably this summer.

    During his closing argument, Deputy District Attorney Rodney Tethal said the three men unleashed the attack because part of their gang ‘‘turf'' in Coachella had been tagged with graffiti by an Indio gang a month earlier.

    “For spray paint, signs, jerseys or where you're from, people have to die because you have to uphold the barrio,” Tethal said. “It doesn't get any more violent than unleashing bullets on a house of unsuspecting people.”

    Lares' defense attorney John Patrick Dolan, has contended during the trial that the trio were in the neighborhood looking for a house party.

    Lares testified that he fired his assault rifle wildly because he thought he heard gunfire and saw flashes just as the group arrived on Ruby Street.

    http://www.mydesert.com/article/2011...xt|Frontpage|s

  6. #6
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    33,217
    Gang members convicted in drive-by shooting death of Indio woman

    Two men were convicted of first-degree murder today for a drive-by attack on a family gathering in Indio that left a 19-year-old woman dead.

    Anthony Lares, 24, and Jesse Sambrano, 25, both face a potential death sentence for the Aug. 12, 2005, shooting that killed Vanessa Torres.

    The penalty phase of their trial will begin next week.

    Co-defendant Daniel Torres, 24, who is not related to the victim, will be tried separately.

    In addition to murder, Lares and Sambrano were found guilty of six counts of attempted murder, two assault with a deadly weapon counts and one count of shooting at an inhabited dwelling.

    Both are eligible for the death penalty because jurors found true the special circumstance allegation of committing murder for the benefit of a street gang.

    Neither man showed any reaction when the guilty verdicts were read, though Sambrano kept glancing back at family members who were crying in the audience.

    According to prosecutors, Vanessa Torres and her boyfriend, Jacob Rodriguez, were leaving a family gathering at 83- 062 Ruby St. when Lares and Daniel Torres opened fire from a vehicle.

    Deputy District Attorney Rodney Tethal said the attack was aimed at a rival gang.

    The defendants were upset that part of their gang “turf” in Coachella had been tagged with graffiti by an Indio gang a month earlier, the prosecutor said.

    Lares testified that he opened fire because he heard gunfire and thought the trio was being attacked. The assault rifle that he fired, he said, was in his car for protection.

    Sambrano testified that the three friends were in Indio looking for a party that a girl had invited Lares to attend.

    Sambrano said he had just parked in front of a house on Ruby Street when he heard gunshots.

    He also insisted he would never participate in a drive-by shooting for fear of retribution by gang members.

    But Tethal said Sambrano, who was driving the car, passed by the home on Ruby Street four times on the night of the shooting.

    The prosecutor said the defendants targeted the residence because they believed a member of the rival North Side Indio street gang lived there, saw markings of the gang on the house and nearby trees and heard someone at the home shout a perceived confrontational greeting.

    http://www.mydesert.com/article/2011...yssey=nav|head

  7. #7
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    33,217
    Penalty phase to begin for men convicted of murder in 2005 drive-by shooting

    A jury will begin deciding the fate today of two men convicted of first-degree murder for a drive-by attack that left a 19-year old Indio woman dead.

    Anthony Lares, 24, and Jesse Sambrano, 25, both face a death sentence for the Aug. 12, 2005, shooting at an Indio family gathering that killed Vanessa Torres.

    The penalty phase for the two is scheduled to begin today, in which the same jury that convicted the pair of 10 felonies last week will determine whether to sentence the two to capital punishment.

    A death penalty trial is the only time in the California criminal court system in which a jury — and not a judge — decides the punishment for defendants.

    The second stage of the pair's trial could last through the end of the month.

    Co-defendant Daniel Torres, 24, who is not related to the victim, will be tried separately.

    In addition to murder, Lares and Sambrano were found guilty of six counts of attempted murder, two assault with a deadly weapon counts and one count of shooting at an inhabited dwelling.

    Both are eligible for the death penalty because jurors found true the special circumstance allegation of committing murder while firing from a vehicle.

    The jury hung, 11-1 in favor of finding true a second special circumstance allegation of committing a murder for the benefit of a street gang. A mistrial on that allegation was declared, but it remains to be seen if prosecutors will drop the accusation.

    Neither man showed any reaction when the guilty verdicts were read, though Sambrano kept glancing back at family members who were crying in the audience.

    According to prosecutors, Vanessa Torres and her boyfriend, Jacob Rodriguez, were leaving a family gathering in the 83-000 block of Ruby Street when Lares and Daniel Torres opened fire from a vehicle.

    Deputy District Attorney Rodney Tethal said the attack was aimed at a rival gang. The defendants were upset that part of their gang "turf" in Coachella had been tagged with graffiti by an Indio gang a month earlier, the prosecutor said.

    Lares testified that he opened fire because he heard gunfire and thought the trio was being attacked. The assault rifle that he fired, he said, was in his car for protection.

    Sambrano testified that the three friends were in Indio looking for a party that a girl had invited Lares to attend. Sambrano said he had just parked in front of a house on Ruby Street when he heard gunshots. He also insisted he would never participate in a drive-by shooting for fear of retribution by gang members.

    But Tethal said Sambrano, who was driving the car, passed by the home on Ruby Street four times on the night of the shooting.

    The prosecutor said the defendants targeted the residence because they believed a member of the rival North Side Indio street gang lived there, saw markings of the gang on the house and nearby trees and heard someone at the home shout a perceived confrontational greeting.

    http://www.mydesert.com/article/2011...xt|Frontpage|p

  8. #8
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    33,217
    Drive-by killer's illness delays death penalty trial

    Jurors will have to wait until next week to hear relatives of a young woman killed in a drive-by attack testify in a trial to determine whether the two gang members convicted of her murder should be sentenced to death or life in prison.

    Vanessa Torres, 19, was killed and her boyfriend and another man injured on Aug. 12, 2005, when bullets were fired at a family party in Indio.

    Anthony Lares, 24, and Jesse Sambrano, 25, were convicted of first-degree murder and other charges on June 7, and the penalty phase of their trial began Wednesday.

    The victim's family members were set to testify today about the impact of her loss, but proceedings were postponed until Monday morning because Sambrano was ill and could not be transported to the Larson Justice Center.

    The jurors that convicted the defendants must decide whether to recommend capital punishment or life in prison without the possibility of parole. A judge ultimately determines whether to uphold a jury's recommendation, though rarely does a jurist go against a panel's decision.

    In addition to murder, Lares and Sambrano were convicted of six counts of attempted murder, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of shooting at an inhabited dwelling.

    Jurors found true the special circumstance allegation of murder while firing from a vehicle, which made them eligible for a death sentence.

    A third defendant, 24-year-old Daniel Torres, who is not related to the victim, will be tried separately.

    Prosecutors say all three are members of VCR-52, a Coachella-based street gang.

    Defense attorneys, in opening statements Wednesday in the penalty phase, argued their clients' lives should be spared.

    "You have to consider heartache, pain and suffering (of the Torres' family), but there is no reason to impose it on the Lares family, as well," said defense attorney John Patrick Dolan.

    Dolan told jurors they will hear from Lares' mother, "who deeply loves and cares about her son's life, who wants you to spare his life rather than return a verdict of execution."

    Sambrano's attorney, John Hemmer, said his client was influenced by gang culture at an early age, but still performed well in class and graduated high school.

    "He has the ability to provide something for the rest of his life and be useful," Hemmer said. "He has the ability and intelligence to survive and help other people in prison."

    Deputy District Attorney Rodney Tethal called sheriff's deputies who testified that Sambrano has caused trouble during his time in jail.

    One deputy said Sambrano was caught hiding a makeshift shank — crafted from a plastic food tray — in his buttocks, while another said the defendant was among three inmates who beat a fellow inmate.

    A former cellmate testified that Sambrano once punched him repeatedly because he thought he had urinated in the shower.

    The fatally injured victim and her boyfriend, Jacob Rodriguez, were leaving a family gathering in the 83-000 block of Ruby Avenue when Lares and Daniel Torres opened fire from a vehicle, according to trial testimony. Rodriguez and another man, Jesus Morin, were wounded but survived.

    Tethal said the attack was aimed at a rival gang. The defendants were upset that part of their gang "turf" in Coachella had been tagged with graffiti by an Indio gang a month earlier, the prosecutor said.

    "For spray paint, signs, jerseys or where you're from, people have to die because you have to uphold the barrio," Tethal said. "It doesn't get any more violent than unleashing bullets on a house of unsuspecting people."

    Sambrano, the driver, testified that the three friends were looking for a party that a girl had invited Lares to attend. He said he had just parked in front of a house on Ruby Street when he heard gunshots. He maintained that he would never participate in a drive-by shooting for fear of retribution by gang members.

    Lares — who Dolan says was high on drugs and drunk at the time — testified that he opened fire because he heard gunfire and thought the trio was being attacked. The assault rifle that he fired, he said, was in his car for protection.

    "I know what happened, but (the shooting) wasn't to hurt nobody," he said.

    The jury deadlocked 11-1 in favor of finding true a second special circumstance allegation of committing a murder for the benefit of a street gang. A mistrial on that allegation was declared and a decision to pursue that accusation will be made at the conclusion of the trial's penalty phase.

    http://www.mydesert.com/article/2011...text|Frontpage

  9. #9
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    33,217
    Family tells of suffering inflicted by murderers

    Family members of a 19-year-old woman killed in a drive-by attack, testifying Monday in the penalty phase of the two men convicted in her death, said she didn't deserve to die in gang-related gunfire and spoke about her love for school, art and family.

    Vanessa Torres was killed, and her boyfriend and another man wounded, when bullets were fired in the direction of a family party they were attending in Indio on Aug. 12, 2005.

    A jury that found Anthony Lares, 24, and Jesse Sambrano, 25, guilty of first-degree murder on June 7 is now deciding whether to recommend death or life in prison without the possibility of parole for the defendants.

    Prosecutors called several of Torres' family members to the stand to express their pain at living without her.

    “There's not a day that goes by without thinking of her,” Gracie Toran said of her daughter. “It's hard not having her around.”

    The two defendants also were convicted of six counts of attempted murder, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of shooting at an inhabited dwelling.

    Jurors found true a special circumstance of murder while firing from a vehicle, which made Lares and Sambrano eligible for capital punishment, along with sentence-enhancing gang claims.

    A third defendant, 24-year-old Daniel Torres, who is not related to the victim, will be tried separately.

    Elisa Torres, Vanessa's older sister, choked up when describing the attack that killed her sibling.

    “It makes me mad because of the way she went. She didn't deserve to go like that,” she said. “She was a good kid. She never did anything to nobody. It's stupid.”

    Family members described Torres as a young woman who enjoyed school and loved making sculptures with her mom.

    “She was just a joy,” Toran said.

    Elisa Torres said she regrets the final conversation she had with her sister, when she quickly ended a phone conversation because she was invested in a TV show.

    “I didn't even tell her I loved her or anything because I didn't think that would be the last time I (talked to) her,” she said. “I don't have a sister. I don't have anybody to go to. It hurts a lot.”

    Lares' mother was expected to testify later as his attorney begins his case to persuade the jury to spare his client's life.

    During opening statements in the penalty phase, defense attorneys invoked the emotional pain a death penalty decision could cause to the families of the defendants.

    “You have to consider heartache, pain and suffering (of the Torres family), but there is no reason to impose it on the Lares family, as well,” said Lares' attorney, John Patrick Dolan.

    Sambrano's attorney, John Hemmer, said his client was influenced by gang culture at an early age, but still performed well in class and graduated high school.

    “He has the ability to provide something for the rest of his life and be useful,” Hemmer said. “He has the ability and intelligence to survive and help other people in prison.”

    According to prosecutors, Vanessa Torres and her boyfriend, Jacob Rodriguez, were leaving a family gathering at 83062 Ruby St. when Lares and Daniel Torres opened fire from a vehicle. Rodriguez and another man, Jesus Morin, survived their wounds.

    Deputy District Attorney Rodney Tethal has said the attack was aimed at a rival gang. The defendants, members of VCR-52, were upset that part of their gang “turf” in Coachella had been tagged with graffiti by an Indio gang a month earlier, the prosecutor said.

    “For spray paint, signs, jerseys or where you're from, people have to die because you have to uphold the barrio,” Tethal said earlier. “It doesn't get any more violent than unleashing bullets on a house of unsuspecting people.”

    Sambrano, the driver, testified that the three friends were looking for a party that a girl had invited Lares to attend. He said he had just parked in front of a house on Ruby Street when he heard gunshots. He also insisted he would never participate in a drive-by shooting for fear of retribution by gang members.

    Lares — who Dolan says was high on drugs and drunk at the time — testified that he opened fire because he heard gunfire and thought the trio was being attacked. The assault rifle that he fired, he said, was in his car for protection.

    “I know what happened, but (the shooting) wasn't to hurt nobody,” he said.

    The jury hung, 11-1, in favor of finding true a second special circumstance of committing a murder for the benefit of a street gang. A mistrial on that allegation was declared and a decision to pursue that accusation will be made at the conclusion of the trial's penalty phase.

    http://www.mydesert.com/article/2011...xt|Frontpage|p

  10. #10
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    33,217

    Jurors Recommend Life In Prison For Two Men Convicted of Killing Woman In Drive-By Shooting

    Jurors recommended Wednesday that two men who took part in a drive-by shooting that killed a 19-year-old woman in Indio be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

    Anthony Lares, 24, and Jesse Sambrano, 25, were convicted June 7 of first-degree murder and other charges stemming from the Aug. 12, 2005, shooting death of Vanessa Torres outside a family party she was attending. Her boyfriend and another man were also shot but survived.

    Both could have faced the death penalty.

    A third defendant, 24-year-old Daniel Torres, who is not related to the victim, will be tried separately.

    In addition to murder, Lares and Sambrano were convicted of six counts of attempted murder, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of shooting at an inhabited dwelling. Jurors found true a special circumstance allegation of murder while firing from a vehicle, making the pair eligible for the death penalty, and sentence-enhancing gang allegations.

    According to prosecutors, Vanessa Torres and her boyfriend, Jacob Rodriguez, were leaving a family gathering at 83062 Ruby St. when Lares and Daniel Torres opened fire from a vehicle. Rodriguez and another man, Jesus Morin, were shot but survived.

    Deputy District Attorney Rodney Tethal said the attack was aimed at a rival gang, which had tagged part of the defendants' gang turf in Indio a month earlier.

    Sambrano testified during the trial that the three friends were looking for a party that a girl had invited Lares to attend. He said he had just parked in front of a house on Ruby Street when he heard gunshots. He also insisted he would never participate in a drive-by shooting for fear of retribution by gang members.

    Lares testified that he opened fire because he heard gunfire and thought the trio was being attacked. The assault rifle that he fired, he said, was in his car for protection.

    http://www.kpsplocal2.com/Content/Fe...1MQvBUoww.cspx

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •