LONG BEACH -- Guilty on all counts was the verdict handed down Tuesday for one of two Long Beach teens charged with the revenge killing of a 16-year-old Long Beach youth.
Two juries, one for each defendant, simultaneously sat through more than two weeks of testimony in the case of Eric Benites and Jason Trejo, two alleged gang members charged with the killing of Florentino Rivera in January of 2008 and the attempted murders and assaults of five others.
Closing arguments began Monday afternoon for Trejo's jury and by Tuesday afternoon they had delivered a verdict of guilty on all counts, paving the way for a possible life sentence without parole for the youth, who was 14 when the crimes occurred.
Benites' jury is expected to begin its deliberations Wednesday.
The case has been a difficult one, with about as much time spent in side bars and arguments among the attorneys as time dedicated to witness testimony.
As a result, the case dragged on a week longer than the court's initial expectations, leading several jurors to warn the court at the end of last week that they may have to leave for scheduled vacations this week, an issue that could still put the Benites case in jeopardy of a mistrial if not enough alternates remain.
Both juries faced a tough job of weighing many days of testimony -- much of it hostile -- and evidence from both the prosecution and the defense.
Deputy District Attorney Patrick Frey charged the pair went on a shooting spree from December of 2007 through January of 2008 after Benites' 13-year-old brother, Jose Cano, was killed by rival gang members.
A number of witnesses called by the prosecution identified the pair as being involved in all of the alleged shootings, including at least two witnesses who testified the defendants' gang had threatened them and their families.
Those revelations led to a massive investigation by the Long Beach Police Department and the arrests five people for witness intimidation, four of whom have been charged and are awaiting trial.
Issues of possible intimidation were raised by jurors as well, with two jurors on Trejo's case saying he and Benites had been starting threateningly at them -- or mad-dogging them -- throughout the trial.
The defense argued then that they should be dismissed from the jury. The prosecution pointed out that if that were to happen it would set a precedent of allowing countless jurors out of tough cases if they believed they were being intimidated.
Long Beach Superior Court Judge J.D. Lord ultimately decided to retain the jurors who raised the issue after asking them if they could continue on the panel and remain unbiased, with the pair agreeing they could.
During witness testimony and in their closing arguments, the defense -- Anthony Garcia and Nancy Sperber -- sought to destroy the credibility of the prosecution's witnesses -- many of whom are admitted gang members or former gang members or are affiliated with local gangs -- painting a picture of the accused teens as victims framed by their rivals and bitter enemies.
The defendants were being foolish kids when they took credit for crimes they didn't commit while bragging to police about several of the shootings, Garcia said.
The defense lawyers also called their own roster of witnesses to some of the shootings who gave differing accounts of what happened from the versions testified to by prosecution witnesses and police.
That including one woman who said she saw two men with guns at one of the shootings, but insisted the gunmen were black. The victim in that case was black, but Benites and Trejo are both Hispanic.
The jury in Trejo's case did not seem swayed by the defense's case, finding the teen guilty within a few hours of starting deliberations and delivering their verdict shortly before 5 p.m. at the Long Beach Superior Court.
Jurors in Benites' case are scheduled to begin their deliberations Wednesday morning.
Two juries, one for each defendant, simultaneously sat through more than two weeks of testimony in the case of Eric Benites and Jason Trejo, two alleged gang members charged with the killing of Florentino Rivera in January of 2008 and the attempted murders and assaults of five others.
Closing arguments began Monday afternoon for Trejo's jury and by Tuesday afternoon they had delivered a verdict of guilty on all counts, paving the way for a possible life sentence without parole for the youth, who was 14 when the crimes occurred.
Benites' jury is expected to begin its deliberations Wednesday.
The case has been a difficult one, with about as much time spent in side bars and arguments among the attorneys as time dedicated to witness testimony.
As a result, the case dragged on a week longer than the court's initial expectations, leading several jurors to warn the court at the end of last week that they may have to leave for scheduled vacations this week, an issue that could still put the Benites case in jeopardy of a mistrial if not enough alternates remain.
Both juries faced a tough job of weighing many days of testimony -- much of it hostile -- and evidence from both the prosecution and the defense.
Deputy District Attorney Patrick Frey charged the pair went on a shooting spree from December of 2007 through January of 2008 after Benites' 13-year-old brother, Jose Cano, was killed by rival gang members.
A number of witnesses called by the prosecution identified the pair as being involved in all of the alleged shootings, including at least two witnesses who testified the defendants' gang had threatened them and their families.
Those revelations led to a massive investigation by the Long Beach Police Department and the arrests five people for witness intimidation, four of whom have been charged and are awaiting trial.
Issues of possible intimidation were raised by jurors as well, with two jurors on Trejo's case saying he and Benites had been starting threateningly at them -- or mad-dogging them -- throughout the trial.
The defense argued then that they should be dismissed from the jury. The prosecution pointed out that if that were to happen it would set a precedent of allowing countless jurors out of tough cases if they believed they were being intimidated.
Long Beach Superior Court Judge J.D. Lord ultimately decided to retain the jurors who raised the issue after asking them if they could continue on the panel and remain unbiased, with the pair agreeing they could.
During witness testimony and in their closing arguments, the defense -- Anthony Garcia and Nancy Sperber -- sought to destroy the credibility of the prosecution's witnesses -- many of whom are admitted gang members or former gang members or are affiliated with local gangs -- painting a picture of the accused teens as victims framed by their rivals and bitter enemies.
The defendants were being foolish kids when they took credit for crimes they didn't commit while bragging to police about several of the shootings, Garcia said.
The defense lawyers also called their own roster of witnesses to some of the shootings who gave differing accounts of what happened from the versions testified to by prosecution witnesses and police.
That including one woman who said she saw two men with guns at one of the shootings, but insisted the gunmen were black. The victim in that case was black, but Benites and Trejo are both Hispanic.
The jury in Trejo's case did not seem swayed by the defense's case, finding the teen guilty within a few hours of starting deliberations and delivering their verdict shortly before 5 p.m. at the Long Beach Superior Court.
Jurors in Benites' case are scheduled to begin their deliberations Wednesday morning.
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