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Thread: Elias Carmona Lopez - California Death Row

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    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Elias Carmona Lopez - California Death Row


    Elias Carmona Lopez


    Gang member accused in 2004 killings get trial date

    A trial date is expected to be set today for a 25-year-old gang member accused of gunning down two men within a month nearly seven years ago.

    Elias Carmona Lopez faces first-degree murder charges in the shooting deaths of Erineo Perez and Martin Garcia on Oct. 10 and Oct. 26, 2004, respectively. He could face the death penalty if convicted.

    He also faces a felony count of participating in a criminal street gang and a special circumstance allegation of lying in wait.

    Then-District Attorney Rod Pacheco decided to pursue the death penalty against Lopez in August 2010 following a review of the defendant's criminal and personal history, the facts of the case and a meeting with the victims' family members.

    Lopez's attorney, Arnold Lieman, who was invited to attend the family meeting, said he had expected the D.A.'s office to come down hard on his client because of Lopez's gang membership and criminal history.

    "I'm a little disappointed, but I'm not surprised," Lieman said at the time.

    Both victims were shot several times in the face. Perez was found in the front seat of his vehicle near Indio City Hall and Garcia was found in an Indio alley, according to the Riverside County District Attorney's Office.

    Lopez was a suspect in both murders early on, but there was insufficient evidence to prosecute the case until July 2008, according to the DA's office.

    Lopez was brought in 2008 to Riverside County from Arizona, where he was serving an eight-year prison term for armed robbery.

    http://www.mydesert.com/article/2011...text|Frontpage
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    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Death Penalty Sought for Double Shooting

    Elias Carmona Lopez, 29, faces two counts of first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of Erineo Perez and Martin Garcia in 2004.

    By Alexander Nguyen
    The Palm Desert Patch

    Final trial preparations continued Thursday in the trial of an Indio gang member accused in the execution-style murders of two men more than a decade ago.

    Elias Carmona Lopez, 29, faces two counts of first-degree murder and two felony counts of participating in a street gang in the shooting deaths of Erineo Perez and Martin Garcia on Oct. 10 and Oct. 26, 2004.

    Both victims were shot several times in the face, authorities said.

    Lopez faces 11 sentence-enhancing allegations, including special- circumstances of lying in wait, committing multiple murders and murder in furtherance of a criminal street gang.

    Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Lopez.

    During the hearing at the Larson Justice Center, prosecution and defense attorneys debated a number of pretrial motions -- a process that began Tuesday and was expected to continue through September.

    A month-long jury selection procedure was expected to begin in October, with opening statements and testimony scheduled for Nov. 2.

    Perez was found in the front seat of his vehicle near Indio City Hall and Garcia was found in an Indio alley, authorities said.

    Lopez was an early suspect in both killings, but there was insufficient evidence to prosecute the case until July 2008, county prosecutors said in 2010, declining to reveal what additional evidence came to light.

    Lopez was brought in 2008 to Riverside County from Arizona, where he was imprisoned for armed robbery.

    http://patch.com/california/palmdese...ouble-shooting
    "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."
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    "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.”
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    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    Jury Selection Begins in Decade-Old Double Murder

    Elias Carmona Lopez, 29, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of Erineo Perez and Martin Garcia in 2004.

    An estimated month-long jury selection process got underway today for the trial of an Indio gang member accused in the execution-style murders of two men more than a decade ago.

    Elias Carmona Lopez, 29, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of Erineo Perez and Martin Garcia on Oct. 10 and Oct. 26, 2004. Both victims were shot several times in the face, authorities said.

    Prosecutors are seeking capital punishment for Lopez, who faces special circumstance allegations of lying in wait, committing multiple murders and murder in furtherance of a criminal street gang.

    Prosecution and defense attorneys today began the process of time- qualifying potential jurors, a process aimed at finding individuals capable of making the months-long commitment of time required to hear the guilt and possible sentencing phases of the case.

    Opening statements and the start of testimony is tentatively scheduled for Nov. 2.

    Perez was found in the front seat of his vehicle near Indio City Hall and Garcia was found dead in an Indio alley.

    Lopez was an early suspect in both killings, but there was insufficient evidence to prosecute the case until July 2008, according to county prosecutors, who declined to reveal what additional evidence came to light.

    Lopez was brought back to Riverside County in 2008 from Arizona, where he was imprisoned for armed robbery.

    http://patch.com/california/palmdese...-double-murder

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    Testimony begins in death penalty case

    INDIO, Calif. - An Indio woman testified Thursday that she watched hysterically for several minutes as her brother bled, gasped for air and then died after being shot multiple times as he sat in his car near her Towne Street apartment 11 years ago.

    Vicki Loera Castro was the first prosecution witness in the trial of Elias Carmona Lopez, charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the execution-style shooting deaths of Erineo Perez and Martin Garcia on Oct. 10 and Oct. 26, 2004. Both victims were shot several times in the face, authorities said.

    Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Lopez, who faces special circumstance allegations of lying in wait, committing multiple murders and murder in furtherance of a criminal street gang.

    http://www.kesq.com/news/testimony-b...-case/36419264

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    Retrial to start in Indio double-murder

    INDIO, Calif. - Jury selection is set to begin Wednesday in the retrial of a 29-year-old gang member accused in the execution-style killings of two rival gang members in Indio a decade ago.

    A mistrial was declared last month after jurors were unable to reach unanimous verdicts on the two first-degree murder charges against Elias Carmona Lopez.

    Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for the defendant, who is accused in the shooting deaths of Erineo Perez and Martin Garcia on Oct. 10 and Oct. 26, 2004, respectively. Both victims were shot several times, including in the face.

    The weeks-long jury selection process will be followed by opening statements, tentatively scheduled for March 7.

    Jurors deadlocked, 11 to 1, in favor of conviction after hearing after about six weeks of testimony. Before the mistrial was declared, Lopez agreed to plead guilty to a single felony count of participating in a criminal street gang.

    In his closing argument, Deputy District Attorney Scot L. Clark said Lopez was in possession of a pistol used in two killings, lived in between the two murder scenes and provided his former girlfriend with obscure details from the crimes that only the killer would know.

    "The fact is that Mr. Lopez shot Mr. Perez -- executed him,'' the prosecutor alleged. "Mr. Lopez executed Mr. Garcia 16 days after the other killing.''

    He urged jurors to heed the account of Lopez's former girlfriend, who testified that the defendant confessed both killings to her a decade ago, in uncanny detail. "She had details from both of the killings that only the killer could know,'' Clark said.

    Lopez's attorneys contended that detectives ignored numerous other suspects or avenues of investigation after an informant helped them find the murder weapon, a .22 caliber pistol, under Lopez's mattress.

    Police never took fingerprints nor DNA evidence from the firearm, failed to check for gunshot residue from the hands of other potential suspects and failed to aggressively pursue other leads, attorney Peter J. Morreale said.

    Morreale said jurors should take the girlfriend's testimony with a grain of salt, noting that she admitted being constantly high on methamphetamine at the time, and said she only purported to have knowledge of details from the second murder after being threatened with loss of her child.

    Perez was found in the front seat of his vehicle near Indio City Hall and Garcia was found dead in an Indio alley. Lopez was an early suspect in both killings, but there was insufficient evidence to prosecute the case until July 2008, according to prosecutors.

    After the killings, Lopez boarded a Greyhound bus and moved with Garcia to Arizona.

    Lopez was brought back to Riverside County in 2008 from Arizona, where he had been imprisoned for armed robbery.

    http://www.kesq.com/news/Retrial-to-...urder/37799022

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    Senior Member CnCP Legend Mike's Avatar
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    November 15, 2016

    Man Convicted of Killing Two Men in Indio May be Sentenced to Life in Prison or Death

    Jurors will begin hearing testimony to determine whether to recommend a death sentence or life in prison without the possibility of parole for a gang member convicted of the execution-style killings of two men in Indio nearly 12 years ago.

    Elias Carmona Lopez, 30, was found guilty two weeks ago of two counts of first-degree murder for the shooting deaths of Erineo Perez and Martin Garcia on Oct. 10 and Oct. 26, 2004, respectively.

    Jurors found true special circumstance allegations of lying in wait, multiple murders and committing the murder for the benefit of a criminal street gang,making Lopez eligible for the death penalty.

    In his first trial earlier this year, jurors deadlocked 11-1 in favor of conviction after about six weeks of testimony.

    http://www.kmir.com/story/29954610/m...-death-penalty
    "There is a point in the history of a society when it becomes so pathologically soft and tender that among other things it sides even with those who harm it, criminals, and does this quite seriously and honestly. Punishing somehow seems unfair to it, and it is certain that imagining ‘punishment’ and ‘being supposed to punish’ hurts it, arouses fear in it." Friedrich Nietzsche

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    Gang member convicted of 2 Indio murders to be sentenced to death

    A judge is expected to uphold a jury's recommendation and formally sentence a gang member to death for the execution-style killings of two men in Indio more than a decade ago.

    Jurors in October recommended capital punishment for Elias Carmona Lopez, 30, who was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder for the shooting deaths of Erineo Perez and Martin Garcia on Oct. 10 and Oct. 26, 2004, respectively.

    In the guilt phase of the trial, the panel found true special circumstance allegations of lying in wait, multiple murders and committing the murder for the benefit of a criminal street gang, making Lopez eligible for a death sentence.

    Defense motions for a new trial and modification of the jury's recommended sentence were denied this week by Riverside County Superior Court Judge Richard A. Erwood. According to Deputy District Attorney Scot L. Clark, Lopez was paid to kill Perez, who was shot several times while sitting inside his vehicle near Indio City Hall. The defendant snuck up on the 25-year-old victim from behind, the prosecutor said.

    Garcia, 18, was found dead in an Indio alley, where Lopez lured him under false pretenses, claiming no animosity over their rival gang status before killing him, Clark said. Both victims were shot several times, including in the face.

    During the penalty phase of the trial, Clark argued death was the appropriate punishment for a defendant who demonstrated that he's a danger to others even while imprisoned. Clark read transcripts of recorded phone calls that Lopez made while in prison in 2010, in which he gave out the home addresses of his ex-girlfriend and her boyfriend, and the boyfriend's work address to other gang members.

    Lopez also expressed anger over the ex-girlfriend testifying against him. Clark said Lopez had told her that he'd committed both murders, providing her details that only the killer would have known.

    Shell casings taken from both crime scenes came from the same gun, a .22-caliber Smith & Wesson found beneath Lopez's mattress, Clark said.

    Defense attorney Demitra Tolbert argued that the evidence did not prove the murders were committed by the same person, only that the same gun -- which her client claimed he had been holding for a friend he refused to identify -- was used.

    Clark said a number of other potential suspects suggested to be the killer by the defense could easily be ruled out.

    According to the prosecutor, none of the supposed killers had connections to both Perez and Garcia, and none of them could have managed to get the murder weapon underneath Lopez's mattress.

    Tolbert maintained that detectives did not fully pursue the connections between those suspects and the victims to the extent necessary, saying "law enforcement failed miserably'' in its investigation, dismissing potential suspects and not following through with DNA testing or witness interviews at both crime scenes.

    Lopez was an early suspect in both killings, but there was insufficient evidence to prosecute the case until July 2008, according to the prosecution. He was serving an eight-year sentence for armed robbery at an Arizona prison when the murder case was filed against him.

    During his first trial in early 2016, jurors deadlocked 11-1 in favor of conviction after about six weeks of testimony.

    http://www.kesq.com/news/crime/gang-...eath/265607732
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

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    Moderator Ryan's Avatar
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    Lopez entered Calfornia Death Row on January 25, 2017.

    http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/capital_punis...listsecure.pdf

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    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    January 13, 2017

    Gang Member Sentenced to Death for Two Indio Murders


    By KMIR News Staff

    A gang member convicted of the execution-style killings of two men in Indio more than a decade ago professed his innocence moments before a judge sentenced him to death.

    ``I honestly did not do this,'' Elias Carmona Lopez told Riverside County Superior Court Judge Richard A. Erwood. ``I can't hold remorse for something I didn't do.''

    Lopez, 30, apologized to the victims' families ``for their loss ... I can't imagine.''

    Jurors in October recommended capital punishment for Lopez, who was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder for the shooting deaths of Erineo Perez and Martin Garcia on Oct. 10 and Oct. 26, 2004, respectively.

    In the guilt phase of the trial, the panel found true special circumstance allegations of lying in wait, multiple murders and committing the murder for the benefit of a criminal street gang, making Lopez eligible for a death sentence.

    During his statement to the court, he turned several times to members of Perez's family in the audience, urging that he was not the killer.

    ``I did not murder your son, your brother,'' he said on one occasion, leading Perez's older sister, Vicki Castro, to stand and leave the courtroom.

    According to Deputy District Attorney Scot L. Clark, Lopez was paid to kill Perez, who was shot several times while sitting inside his vehicle near Indio City Hall. The defendant snuck up on the 25-year-old victim from behind, the prosecutor said.

    Garcia, 18, was found dead in an Indio alley, where Lopez lured him under false pretenses, claiming no animosity over their rival gang status before killing him, Clark said.

    Both victims were shot several times, including in the face.

    Castro, who witnessed her brother's final moments, told the judge the loss of ``Junior'' devastated the family.

    ``We'll never get to see what success he would have become, what he would have accomplished, where he would have been, how he would have been.

    A picture on a tombstone does not suffice, your honor. It's not enough for us,'' she said. ``What the defendant took was a big part of our hearts, a huge part of my soul.''

    Clark read a statement from Martin Garcia's mother, in which she said her family ``will never be the same'' and that if her son's killer ``is let out, he will do it again.''

    Lopez's attorney Demitra Tolbert, echoed her client's claims of innocence.

    "Normally when we get to this position, your honor, as you well know, we are asking the court to forgive, we are asking the court for leniency, we are asking the court for compassion. In this case, we don't mean disrespect, but we do still believe that Mr. Lopez is not guilty of these crimes,'' Tolbert said.

    Clark argued death was the appropriate punishment for a defendant who he said demonstrated that he's a danger to others even while imprisoned.

    During the penalty phase of the trial, Clark read transcripts of recorded phone calls that Lopez made while in prison in 2010, in which he gave out the home addresses of his ex-girlfriend and her boyfriend, and the boyfriend's work address to other gang members. Lopez also expressed anger in the phone calls over the ex-girlfriend testifying against him.

    Clark said Lopez had told her that he'd committed both murders, providing her details that only the killer would have known.

    Tolbert questioned the credibility of Lopez's ex-girlfriend, citing substance abuse and a subsequent relationship with a rival gang member as clouding both her judgment and objectivity towards Lopez.

    Shell casings taken from both crime scenes came from the same gun, a .22- caliber Smith & Wesson found beneath Lopez's mattress, Clark said.

    Tolbert argued that the evidence did not prove the murders were committed by the same person, only that the same gun -- which her client claimed he had been holding for a friend he refused to identify -- was used.

    Clark said a number of other potential suspects suggested to be the killer by the defense could easily be ruled out.

    According to the prosecutor, none of the supposed killers had connections to both Perez and Garcia, and none of them could have managed to get the murder weapon underneath Lopez's mattress.

    Tolbert maintained that detectives did not fully pursue the connections between those suspects and the victims to the extent necessary, saying ``law enforcement failed miserably'' in its investigation, dismissing potential suspects and not following through with DNA testing or witness interviews at both crime scenes.

    Lopez was an early suspect in both killings, but there was insufficient evidence to prosecute the case until July 2008, according to the prosecution. He was serving an eight-year sentence at an Arizona prison when the murder case was filed against him.

    During his first trial in early 2016, jurors deadlocked 11-1 in favor of conviction after about six weeks of testimony.

    http://www.kmir.com/story/29954610/g...-indio-murders
    "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

  10. #10
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    On February 20, 2020, counsel was appointed to represent Carmona on direct appeal before the California Supreme Court.

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

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