Two convicted murderers to be sentenced Friday

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Pomona man guilty of killing man in Upland

Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (Ontario, CA) - Friday, October 10, 2008

Author: Will Bigham, Staff Writer

RANCHO CUCAMONGA - A West Valley Superior Court jury found Michael Terrell Moore guilty Friday of murder and attempted murder for his role in a shooting last year in Upland.

Moore , 22, of Pomona, killed 19-year-old Daniel Gonzalez and seriously wounded Steven Reina when he opened fire on a car as it drove past the Diamond Court Apartments on March 10, 2007.

Prosecutors said Moore was motivated to kill Reina over a $100 drug debt.

Because Friday's verdicts carry sentencing enhancements for use of a firearm, Moore faces a lifetime in prison when he is sentenced. A sentencing hearing was set for Nov. 7.

Moore faces 50 years to life for the murder charge and 31 years to life for the attempted-murder charge, said Deputy District Attorney Carolyn Youngberg, the prosecutor.

At Moore 's sentencing hearing, Judge Steve Malone will decide whether Moore 's sentences will run concurrently - meaning he will serve both at the same time - or run consecutively, Youngberg said.

The jury's deliberations started about 11 a.m. Wednesday, and a verdict was reached at about 10:30 a.m. Friday morning.

When the decision was being announced, Moore looked down at the table in front of him, looked to his right - away from the jury - and at one point looked back at a crying relative of Gonzalez's.

"I feel good. I think we had a smart jury," Youngberg said after the hearing. "There was a lot of evidence, a lot of testimony. They were able to piece it together to the right conclusion in this case."

When Moore testified during the trial, he said the real shooter was a man standing next to him who might have been motivated to shoot at the car after Moore said the driver owed him money.

Bullet casings found at the scene were a match in ballistics tests to shells found under the hood of Moore 's Lexus sedan.

Moore said the casings in his car were from an earlier incident when the man he identified as the shooter fired into the air as he stood next to Moore 's car.

About 10 handgun rounds were fired at Reina's car. Gonzalez was hit in the back and Reina, who was driving, was struck in the head. Reina survived the shooting but lost his left eye.

Family members for the two victims declined to comment after Friday morning's sentencing.

Moore has two other criminal cases open - one for violating his probation because of the shooting and another for possessing cocaine in jail.

Youngberg said she intends to dismiss the drug charge when Moore is sentenced. She also said a sentence for the probation violation - which will likely be 16 months - will likely run concurrent to the time he serves for the murder and attempted-murder convictions.

Moore 's attorney, James Sprouse, urged the jury during his closing arguments Tuesday to find his client not guilty because the evidence presented by the prosecution was not enough to convict.

"This is a murder case, and this is the quality of evidence we're being presented with?" Sprouse said.

Sprouse said several people who had previously identified Moore as the shooter in interviews with police investigators changed their stories during trial testimony and said they didn't know whether Moore was the shooter.

On Tuesday, Youngberg attributed the changed stories to fear of retribution from witnesses who risked being labeled a "rat" or "snitch" for testifying.

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Fontana man found guilty of murder for killing fiancee's sister

Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (Ontario, CA) - Thursday, October 9, 2008

Author: Lori Consalvo, Staff Writer

FONTANA - Carl Marion was found guilty of second-degree murder Thursday for shooting and killing his pregnant fiancee's brother in July in the city.

Jurors deliberated for about two days before reaching a verdict.

"They rejected the DA's argument that it was first-degree murder, and they rejected my argument that it was voluntary manslaughter," said David Sanders, Marion 's attorney.

Jurors also found three allegations to be true of the use of a gun during the shooting.

The judge will decide at Marion 's sentencing hearing whether to add another prison term of 10, 20 or 25 years to life for the gun enhancement.

Marion shot 34-year-old Rahman Garrett 10 times in the back and in the head on July 19 at a family birthday party in Fontana.

He will return to be sentenced Nov. 7 at the Fontana Courthouse.

Marion and his lawyer had claimed the shooting was in self-defense.

Sanders said he thought the case was "an absolute lock for voluntary manslaughter," which is the killing in "the heat of passion or an imperfect self-defense."

On that summer afternoon, Marion was one of eight guests attending a barbecue at the apartment in the 18200 block of Foothill Boulevard.

Tyais Garrett, his fiancee; her mother; the fiancee's 6-year-old son; and sometimes Marion lived at the apartment.

Guests had arrived at the apartment to help prepare for the barbecue.

Marion and his fiancee had been fighting throughout the day and even broke off the engagement.

At one point, Marion grabbed Tyais Garrett's laptop and threw it to the ground.

Marion left the room and grabbed Tyais Garrett's car keys on his way out of the apartment, with intentions to gather his belongings.

Tyais Garrett went outside with him, leaving guests behind in the apartment.

Shortly thereafter, Rahman Garrett followed the couple outside, witnesses said.

After witnessing an altercation between Marion and Tyais Garrett, Rahman Garrett started throwing punches at Marion , striking him several times in the face.

The defendant said that while he was getting punched, he saw Rahman Garrett reach under his shirt with his left hand.

Seeing that, Marion said he grabbed into a bag he was holding and grabbed a silver Taurus 9 mm semiautomatic handgun in defense.