April 2011 Archives

CHINO -- The San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office filed criminal charges this week in connection with a man's death three years ago at a Chino Hills construction site.

Yeong Hak Song fell 19 feet to his death on April 30, 2008 after stepping on temporary roofing materials that gave way at Crossroads Community Church, 2600 Grand Ave.

On Tuesday, prosecutors filed criminal charges against the superintendent of the job site, Daniel Robert Worthington, and the company he works for, Thayer Construction, Inc. of Yorba Linda.

Worthington, 51, was charged with two felonies: involuntary manslaughter and willful violations of a standard causing death, which is a violation of the state labor code. Involuntary manslaughter carries a maximum prison sentence of four years.

Thayer Construction was charged with willful violations of a standard causing death.

Worthington and the company are scheduled to be arraigned May 23 in Chino Superior Court.

Song, a 57-year-old Huntington Beach resident, was the superintendent overseeing air-conditioning installation at the job site.

He worked for Olympic Air Conditioning, Inc. of Cerritos, according to a written summary of the investigation completed by the state Division of Occupational Safety and Health.

According to the summary, a four-foot-by-four-foot hole in the church's roof was covered temporarily by two pieces of plywood that were attached to each other.

The plywood gave way when Song stepped on it at about 9 a.m. He fell through the hole in the roof and landed on the concrete floor below, injuring his head, according to the summary of the investigation.

Song was pronounced dead at about 10 a.m. at Chino Valley Medical Center, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff-Corner's Department.

The temporary roofing was designed and installed by Thayer Construction, Inc., according to a citation issued by the state. The state fined the company $15,300.

Pictured: Ruben Vasquez

CHINO -- A 33-year-old man has pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter in connection with a fatal traffic collision last year on the 60 Freeway.

At about 4:30 a.m. on June 20, Daniel Briones Rosas collided with a car that was stopped in the westbound lanes of the freeway near Benson Avenue.

The occupant of the stopped car, Ruben Carlos Vasquez of Menifee, was killed in the collision.

Rosas, of Chino, pleaded guilty on April 11 in Chino Superior Court to vehicular manslaughter, a felony.

He entered the plea as part of a plea agreement with Judge Gerard S. Brown that carries a maximum sentence of a year in jail. Brown is scheduled to sentence Rosas on May 9.

Vasquez's family members are upset by what they consider a lenient plea agreement for Rosas, who had been drinking before the crash and registered a 0.07 blood-alcohol level when tested, which is just shy of the 0.08 legal limit.

"What kind of message is the judge sending to the public?" said Reynaldo Vasquez, Ruben Vasquez's brother. "That is what we're opposed to."

Vasquez, 20, was a native of Bell Gardens and graduated in 2007 from Bell Gardens High School. His family moved to Menifee that year.

Vasquez worked as an auto mechanic in the months before his death after completing training in that field, his sister Belia Vasquez said.

Rosas' attorney, Cedric Elias, defended the agreement and said the collision, which he called "tragic," was ultimately caused by Vasquez.

He said he believes Vasquez's car rolled to a stop on the freeway because he passed out. His blood-alcohol level was measured at 0.12, Elias said.

Rosas saw a car approaching him from behind before the crash, so he moved right into the next lane, Elias said.

As soon as Rosas switched lanes he collided with Vasquez's idle vehicle, Elias said. The accident triggered two other collisions.

"This was an unavoidable accident caused by (Vasquez)," Elias said.

Vasquez's brother said he was aware of the circumstances of the crash, and still feels that a year in jail is not just punishment for Rosas.

"He'll just go ahead and do it again -- drink and then maybe kill someone else," said Reynaldo Vasquez, 32.

The maximum sentence for vehicular manslaughter is four years.

Vasquez's brother said he will speak during Rosas' sentencing and ask Brown to withdraw the plea agreement.

"I'm going to get him to see what we're going through," he said. "What if this was one of his family members? Would the judgment be the same?"

Rosas' prosecutor, Deputy District Attorney Tasha Soroosh, declined to comment for this article.

POMONA -- A judge ruled this month that there's sufficient evidence for a transient to stand trial for murder in connection with a fatal stabbing here in October.

Harry Lee Glaser, 51, allegedly stabbed Alfred Edward Burton in the thigh during an argument on Oct. 11, 2010 in the parking lot of a strip mall at North Garey Avenue and Grove Street.

The argument was allegedly spurred by Burton, 50, who without invitation entered a vehicle at about 11 p.m. that Glaser and his girlfriend lived in, according to court testimony this month.

Burton was reportedly drunk and made sexual advances toward Glaser's girlfriend, Shannon King.

He refused to leave the car when asked by Glaser, according to King's testimony during a preliminary hearing in Pomona Superior Court.

Glaser then forced Burton out of the car, punched him several times and stabbed him with a knife, according to testimony.

During the attack Glaser demanded money from Burton and rifled through his pockets, according to testimony from King and a resident of a nearby apartment building.

Judge Bruce F. Marrs ruled at the end of the April 15 hearing that Glaser must stand trial for Burton's killing.

Glaser remained jailed today in lieu of about $1 million bail at the North County Correctional Facility in Castaic. He is scheduled to return to court Friday morning.

King testified that Burton approached her car and entered the passenger side as she sat in the driver's seat. Glaser was outside the car feeding the couple's dog, King testified.

Burton had a water bottle filled with alcohol, King said. He rubbed King's thigh and asked for a ride to Garey and Holt Avenue to buy cocaine, according to King's testimony.

Glaser confronted Burton and asked him to get out of the car. Burton refused, so Glaser punched him, forced him out of the car and beat him in the parking lot, King testified.

Burton died the morning after the incident. Pomona police arrested Glaser in Rancho Cucamonga two days after the attack.

The evening of the incident, King sent a text message to a friend that said Burton threatened her and Glaser with a knife.

Glaser's defense attorney argued during the preliminary hearing that the text message is evidence Glaser acted in self-defense. But in King's testimony, she denied Burton had a knife.

A state appeals court today upheld the convictions of three Pomona gang members serving life prison sentences for their participation in a murder plot.

Julio Ponce Felix Jr., 38, Arthur Garcia, 40, and Ricardo Polanco, 28, were each convicted of of plotting to kill Frankie Buelna in Pomona in 2005.

According to prosecutors, the men plotted to kill Buelna, a Mexican Mafia member, because he was imposing excessive gang "taxes."

Authorities built a case against the defendants by monitoring their phone conversations through wiretaps. The men were arrested in 2005 before they could carry out the hit on Buelna.

The defendants argued on appeal that prosecutors presented insufficient evidence to support the guilty verdicts reached by juries.

A three-judge panel of the state's Second Appellate District disagreed, ruling that there was sufficient evidence for the convictions.

Buelna, 61, was killed in November 2007 at the Characters bar in downtown Pomona. The case remains unsolved.

POMONA -- A man convicted of murdering a man to avenge his brother's slaying was sentenced Tuesday in Pomona Superior Court to 40 years to life in state prison, a prosecutor said.

Prosecutors accused Joel Martin, 24, of targeting Carlos Espinoza on Feb. 4, 2009 because Espinoza was friends with the alleged gang members who fatally shot his brother two months earlier.

Espinoza, 22, was shot six times at a Mission Boulevard bus stop in Pomona by a gunman in a passing Chevy Astro Van.

Before he died, Espinoza, of Pomona, told police his killer was a man he knew as "Guero." He also told police the gunman's brother had recently been killed.

Martin, of Pomona, fled the city after the shooting. A year later, police discovered that he was living with a sibling in Portales, New Mexico.

Martin was arrested there and interviewed by a Pomona police detective, but he initially denied he was involved in Espinoza's death.

He confessed after a detective confronted him with evidence tying him to the shooting. He also acknowledged his nickname was "Guero."

Martin's brother, 24-year-old Miguel Martin, was shot to death on Mission Boulevard on Dec. 5, 2008 about a block east of where Espinoza was killed.

The gunman in the case, Jose Luis Gutierrez, was convicted of murder and sentenced to 40 years to life in prison. He was 16 when he shot Miguel Martin.

From the Associated Press:

ONTARIO -- A Hesperia woman has been arrested on suspicion of causing the death of a pregnant relative's fetus following a fight between the women last year.

Ontario police Detective Jeff Crittenden said Tuesday that 27-year-old Nieshia Johnson is being held on more than $1 million bail for investigation of murder.

Crittenden said Johnson was babysitting for the relative in November when the women got into an argument, then a fight over Johnson disciplining the victim's children. Later, the victim went to the hospital for treatment and she lost her more than 8-week-old fetus.

It was later determined that the fetus was delivered prematurely due to blunt force trauma.

It's not immediately known whether Johnson has retained an attorney.

POMONA -- Two men have been arrested and charged with murder for the shooting death of a 36-year-old man this month in the 200 block of East Holt Avenue.

Armando Saucedo, 19, and Jose Bedolla, 20, were arrested by Pomona police April 20 in connection with the April 16 slaying of Jimmie Adams. Authorities allege the two men are gang members.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office has charged both men with murder. They are scheduled to be arraigned May 25 in Pomona Superior Court.

Each man remains jailed in lieu of $2 million bail at the North County Correctional Facility in Castaic.

SAN BERNARDINO -- A jury began deliberating this afternoon in the trial of an Ontario woman charged with murdering her husband nearly four years ago.

Mia Gonzales, 36, is accused of shooting and killing Abel Gonzales, 44, on Oct. 27, 2007 in the couple's bedroom in the 1900 block of South Almond Street.

The jury retired to deliberate after hearing closing arguments from attorneys in San Bernardino Superior Court.

Deputy District Attorney Mary Izadi said Mia Gonzales was the aggressor during an argument with her husband about whether the couple should divorce.

Mia Gonzales initiated physical contact by slapping her husband in the face, and she further escalated the fight when she retrieved a revolver, Izadi said.

"This is someone who took a fight about a divorce too far," Izadi said.

Mia Gonzales testified during the trial that her husband, a state parole officer, often physically abused her. She said the abuse was at its worst the night of the shooting.

She testified that she threatened her husband with a gun because she feared for her safety and the safety of her three daughters, who were in the home at the time of the incident.

Mia Gonzales said her husband struggled with her as she held the gun, and the weapon inadvertently fired.

Abel Gonzales was shot below the chin at close range. The bullet entered his brain, killing him within seconds.

Mia Gonzales' defense attorney, Mark Fredrick, told the jury during his closing argument that Mia Gonzales was entitled to defend herself from her husband.

"We don't call people murderers for accidents," Fredrick said. "She didn't mean to hurt anybody."

The jury, which consists of nine women and three men, has the option of convicting Mia Gonzales of first-degree murder, second-degree murder or voluntary manslaughter. They could also acquit her.

Izadi said Mia Gonzales lied about her husband's alleged abuse, and accused the wife of trying "to turn the tables on someone who is no longer here to defend himself."

The prosecutor said Mia Gonzales was angry about her husband's infidelity and the possibility of losing custody of her children.

"This is not a manslaughter, it's a murder," Izadi said. "And at the very least it's second-degree murder."

SAN BERNARDINO -- Testimony concluded Monday in the trial of an Ontario woman charged with murdering her husband nearly four years ago.

Attorneys in the case are expected to deliver closing arguments today, and afterward jurors will begin deliberating.

Mia Gonzales, 36, is accused of shooting and killing Abel Gonzales on Oct. 27, 2007 at the couple's home in the 1900 block of South Almond Street.

On the witness stand Monday and last week in San Bernardino Superior Court, Mia Gonzales said her marriage was failing, and she and her husband argued the night of the shooting about whether to divorce.

She said Abel Gonzales was mentally and physically abusive, and on the night of the shooting he beat her severely. She said she retrieved a revolver to protect herself and didn't intend to hurt her husband.

She said the gun inadvertently fired as she struggled with her husband.

Prosecutors believe Mia Gonzales is lying about what occurred during the shooting.

So do family members of Abel Gonzales, a 44-year-old state parole agent who relatives describe as nonviolent.

Family members said Mia Gonzales' description of Abel Gonzales behavior -- as violent and controlling -- is inconsistent with how they remember the Norwalk native.

Deputy District Attorney Mary Izadi completed her cross-examination of Mia Gonzales on Monday morning.

The prosecutor sought to portray the defendant as a liar whose accusations about her husband can't be verified.

"Abel's not here to contest anything you say, right?" Izadi asked.

"No, he's not," Mia Gonzales responded.

Gonzales' defense attorney called several people to testify Monday who befriended the Gonzales family through church.

Ralph Castillo testified that Abel Gonzales told him he was having an ongoing affair. He also said he saw small bruises on Mia Gonzales' arms that she told him were caused by clumsiness.

Other people testified that they saw bruising and other markings on Mia Gonzales' body in the months prior to the shooting.

After the defense rested its case, Izadi called one of Abel Gonzales' former co-workers to testify as a character witness.

Steven Dye, an employee of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said he and Abel Gonzales worked together as prison guards between 1987 and 1993.

Dye said he never saw Abel Gonzales act violent or aggressive toward inmates or co-workers.

"I never saw Abel get upset or lose his cool," Dye testified. "He was a pleasure to work with."

POMONA -- The sentencing hearing for a Covina man convicted in a fatal drunken driving crash was unexpectedly postponed today because the defendant wants to back out of his plea bargain.

Alan Michael McConnell, 28, pleaded guilty to two counts of murder on April 6 as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors that carries a prison sentence of 15 years to life.

A judge was scheduled to impose that sentence today in Pomona Superior Court, but sentencing was delayed to allow McConnell time to craft a request to withdraw his guilty pleas.

His request is scheduled to be heard May 20.

Authorities said McConnell's blood-alcohol level was 0.15 -- nearly twice the legal limit of 0.08 -- when he drove a car into a tree on Jan. 23, 2010 in the median of Foothill Boulevard in La Verne.

Two of his passengers were killed in the crash: Telassie Dague, 22, and Renee Hardy, 20.

Several dozen supporters and family members of the two young women came to court today for McConnell's sentencing, and many were upset by the postponement.

Dague's mother shouted, "Shame on this system," several times when the victims' supporters were told of the delay in the case.

FONTANA - A former computer instructor at Garey High School in Pomona was sentenced to four years in state prison this week for breaking into his estranged wife's home and attacking her.

Augustine Anene, 54, was sentenced in Fontana Superior Court on Thursday after Judge Cara D. Hutson denied Anene's request to withdraw his guilty pleas to two felonies: burglary and spousal abuse.

Anene and his wife had been separated for about four months when he sneaked into her home in the 15700 block of Firethorn Road in Fontana and hid in her bedroom closet, according to prosecutors.

After his wife fell asleep, Anene emerged from the closet and tried to strangle her, prosecutors said. The attack was stopped by one of the couples teenage sons, who heard his mother screaming and pushed Anene off her bed.

Anene pleaded guilty in December as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors.

In an earlier trial, a jury deadlocked over whether Anene's attack constituted attempted murder. Anene testified during the trial that he was trying to speak to his wife, and was not attacking her.

SAN BERNARDINO -- An Ontario woman who shot and killed her husband nearly four years ago spent the entire day on the witness stand today in her murder trial.

In wide-ranging testimony in San Bernardino Superior Court, Mia Joleen Gonzales detailed the deterioration of her relationship with Abel Gonzales, and said she didn't intend to hurt her husband the night she fatally shot him.

Mia Gonzales, 36, testified that her husband beat her severely during an argument shortly after midnight on Oct. 27, 2007, and she feared for her safety and the safety of her three daughters.

She said she retrieved a revolver from a dresser drawer and pointed it at her husband, but he continued to fight her and they fell together onto their bed.

Mia Gonzales said she tried to get up from the bed and the weapon inadvertently fired. She said she was "almost 100 percent sure" that her finger wasn't on the trigger.

"I said, 'Babe, are you OK?' but he didn't answer me," Gonzales testified. "He just made this weird gurgling noise."

The bullet struck Abel Gonzales below the chin and entered his brain, killing the 44-year-old state parole agent within seconds.

Mia Gonzales' account of her husband's death came after she spent more than an hour on the witness stand explaining how her marriage changed drastically over the span of 10 years.

She said her husband's attitude seemed to change the night of their wedding in 1997. He became mean and critical of her, and the abuse worsened over the years, Mia Gonzales testified.

"It was hard," she testified. "I had to make a lot of adjustments."

When the couple's son died within minutes of his birth, Mia Gonzales said her husband blamed her.

"He was very angry," she testified. "He wanted a little boy, and he didn't handle it very well."

The couple moved into a home in the 1900 block of South Almond Street in Ontario in early 2007.

Mia Gonzales said that by June of that year she'd decided to leave her husband. The couple was rarely intimate, and she said her husband was also physically abusive.

When she told her husband of her plans to leave, he responded by opening up to her about his past, she testified.

"It was the beginning of his relinquishing information in hopes that he could keep me there with him," she said.

Abel Gonzales spent the next five to seven evenings disclosing secrets to his wife, including the disclosure that over a four-year period in his childhood he was sexually abused by an older boy.

He also said he had a sexual affair with a male roommate in the years prior to his marriage. Mia Gonzales said she believed her husband occasionally saw the ex-roommate during their marriage.

Mia Gonzales said that after her husband's disclosures, she felt her marriage was a lie.

"I didn't know who I was married to," she said.

She decided not to leave her husband because she felt sorry for him, but she also became severely depressed and attempted suicide twice by cutting herself, she testified.

She said her husband also seemed suicidal. She said she once saw him sitting on the edge of his bed holding a gun to his head.

During her cross-examination of Mia Gonzales, Deputy District Attorney Mary Izadi sought to paint Mia Gonzales as a liar.

Mia Gonzales said that friends and family members often saw bruising on her body from physical altercations with her husband.

But when they asked her about the markings, she would lie and say they weren't caused by her husband, she testified.

Mia Gonzales is set to retake the witness stand on Monday.

CHINO -- A former music teacher at Chino Hills High School was sentenced to a year in jail on Thursday for having a sexual relationship with an underage girl at the school.

Justin Wallin, 31, was sentenced in Chino Superior Court by Judge Gerard S. Brown. The judge placed Wallin on probation for three years.

Wallin pleaded guilty last month to two felony counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor. The pleas came as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors, who agreed to drop additional counts.

Wallin has been in custody since January, and he was credited Thursday with 107 days of custody time. The credits will shorten his jail stay, according to a staff member at the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office.

Wallin was arrested in July 2010 after the girl's parents discovered that Wallin sent more than 8,000 text messages to their daughter, including some that were sexually explicit.

Besides the two counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, prosecutors charged Wallin with three counts of oral copulation, one count of sexual penetration, and a misdemeanor for annoying or molesting a child.

SAN BERNARDINO -- Mia Joleen Gonzales' statements to police in the hours after she shot her husband have been scrutinized this week during her murder trial in San Bernardino Superior Court.

On Thursday morning a jury is expected to hear Gonzales' story directly from her.

The Ontario woman's defense attorney told jurors today that Mia Gonzales will take the witness stand to explain Abel Gonzales' shooting death on Oct. 27, 2007.

Fredrick told the jury in his opening statement that the couple's argument that day was the culmination of years of escalating fighting and abuse.

"Over the course of the marriage between Mia and Abel, Abel turned into a completely different person," Mark Fredrick said in his opening statement.

The couple met in 1996 and married a year later. Abel, who was 12 years older than Mia, quickly became controlling of his wife's social calendar and was critical of her homemaking skills, Fredrick said.

The couple's relationship took a dramatic turn for the worse in early 2007 when they moved into a new home in the 1900 block of South Almond Street in Ontario, Fredrick said.

Abel Gonzales, a state parole agent based in Fontana, disclosed to his wife about four months before the shooting that he had been unfaithful.

"Abel Gonzales had been having an ongoing homosexual affair with a person at his work," Fredrick told the jury.

"It caused (Mia Gonzales) significant pain, as you can imagine, and made her depressed," he said.

Mia Gonzales, 36, shot and killed her 44-year-old husband shortly after midnight during an argument in the couple's bedroom over their troubled marriage.

The argument became a physical altercation, and it was more violent than previous disputes, Fredrick said.

"She was scared for herself," Fredrick said. "She was scared for her kids."

Prior to Fredrick's statement, prosecutors showed a video in court of one of Gonzales' interviews with police in the hours after the shooting.

In the interview, Gonzales told a detective that she and her husband had been arguing about whether to seek a divorce.

Gonzales said she slapped her husband, and he responded by grabbing her wrists and pinning her on the bed.

"It scared me," Gonzales told Detective Al Parra. "All I could think of was getting the gun."
She told the detective she retrieved a revolver from a dresser drawer and pointed it at her husband.

The couple struggled for control of the gun, and they both fell onto the bed, she told police.

She said she tried to get up from the bed, and the gun fired. The bullet struck her husband below the chin and entered his brain, killing him within seconds.

Gonzales told Parra the shot was unintentional. "I didn't pull anything," she said.

Prosecutors have accused Mia Gonzales of lying in her accounts of the shooting. Deputy District Attorney Mary Izadi told jurors this week that she believes Abel Gonzales' killing was a murder.

When the jury retires to deliberate the killing, they are expected to have several potential verdicts to choose from, including first- and second-degree murder and manslaughter.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA - A local nonprofit group's former treasurer pleaded no contest Tuesday to charges that he embezzled about 75 percent of the organization's savings.

Deron Edward Lane, 44, entered his plea in West Valley Superior Court as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors that carries a six-month jail sentence, said Deputy District Attorney Don Pezza. Lane is scheduled to be sentenced May 17.

Lane, of Upland, was accused of stealing about $85,000 from the Chaffey Communities Cultural Center between May 2009 and November 2010.

Lane has since repaid the money he stole from the organization, plus $21,000 to cover the group's attorney's fees. He has also agreed to pay the group $49,000 in punitive damages in monthly installments of $2,300, Pezza said.

The Chaffey Communities Cultural Center manages the Cooper Regional History Museum in Upland and stages local events.

Lane became involved in the organization about four years ago while researching his century-old home in Upland, said Dave Stevens, president of the organization.

He joined the organization's board of directors, and later volunteered to serve as the group's treasurer, Stevens said.

While Lane was treasurer, he issued checks to his spouse from the organization's bank account, then forged his spouse's signature to deposit the checks, according to a police report contained in Lane's court file.

After the embezzlement was discovered, Lane apologized for his actions and repaid the Chaffey Communities Cultural Center, Stevens said.

Pezza said that Upland police are still investigating claims that Lane improperly managed the estate of a Chaffey Communities Cultural Center volunteer who died in December and named Lane executor of her will.

Family members of the volunteer, 61-year-old Lola Lowe, have said they believe Lane illegally depleted bank accounts left by Lowe, and used the funds to repay the Chaffey Communities Cultural Center.

Pezza said that police have not found any evidence that Lane committed a crime in the management of Lowe's estate. The police investigation is ongoing, Pezza said.

"At this point there's nothing that law enforcement can show was ill-gotten," he said.

SAN BERNARDINO -- The prosecution expects to rest its case Wednesday in the trial of an Ontario woman charged with murdering her husband during an argument.

Mia Joleen Gonzales, 36, is accused of shooting her husband at close range shortly after midnight on Oct. 27, 2007 in the couple's bedroom in the 1900 block of South Almond Street.

Abel Gonzales was shot below the chin in an upward trajectory. The bullet fragmented when it broke through his skull, and the fragments entered his brain, according to testimony today.

The 44-year-old state parole officer died within seconds of the gunshot, according to the San Bernardino County deputy medical examiner who performed Abel Gonzales' autopsy.

The deputy medical examiner, Chanikarn Changsri, was one of three witnesses called by prosecutors to testify today in San Bernardino Superior Court.

Deputy District Attorney Mary Izadi said she expects to rest her case against Mia Gonzales as early as Wednesday morning. After the prosecution rests, Mia Gonzales will have an opportunity to stage a defense.

In interviews with police, Mia Gonzales said she retrieved a revolver from a dresser during a heated argument with her husband about whether the couple should divorce.

She told police she discovered four months before the incident that Abel Gonzales was having an affair.

Mia Gonzales told police she slapped her husband, and he grabbed her arms to try to pin her down.

Though the couple's argument became physical, Mia Gonzales maintained she fired the revolver accidentally.

The prosecution sought to call Mia Gonzales' claim into question today in testimony from a firearms inspector from the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.

Bruce Park said he inspected the revolver used in Abel Gonzales' killing, and found the weapon was fully functional, with no sign it could malfunction.

"We were unable to make the firearm discharge without intentionally pulling the trigger," he testified.

The other witness to testify today was Mia Gonzales' 19-year-old daughter from a previous relationship.

Prisilla Garcia's bedroom was down the hall from the room shared by Mia and Abel Gonzales. The night of the shooting she said she heard them arguing.

She recalled that her mother said, "No more arguing. No more fighting."

Prisilla Garcia said her family lived at the home on Almond Street for about seven months before the incident.

She said her mother and stepfather began arguing after they moved into the home, and after the fights she would sometimes see bruising and other markings on their bodies.

SAN BERNARDINO -- A trial opened today in the case of an Ontario woman charged with murdering her husband nearly four years ago.

Mia Joleen Gonzales, 36, shot and killed Abel Gonzales on Oct. 27, 2007 during an argument over the couple's marriage.

Mia Gonzales discovered four months before the shooting that her husband, a 44-year-old state parole agent based in Fontana, had been cheating on her, Deputy District Attorney Mary Izadi told a jury in her opening statement.

The couple tried to preserve their marriage. They had two children together and a teenage stepchild. But the night of the shooting they argued over whether to divorce, Izadi said.

The argument turned from verbal to physical shortly before 12:30 a.m. in the couple's bedroom in the 1900 block of South Almond Street.

Mia Gonzales told police she slapped her husband, and markings on her neck and arms support her contention that Abel Gonzales also became physical with her.

Mia Gonzales retrieved a revolver from a dresser drawer, Izadi said, and at close range fired a bullet into the front of her husband's neck. The round came to rest inside Abel Gonzales' skull.

In interviews with police after the shooting, Mia Gonzales said she accidently fired the gun.

She repeatedly said, "I didn't mean to," in recorded police interviews played aloud in San Bernardino Superior Court.

"I didn't know it was going to go off," she said.

In her opening statement, Izadi accused Mia Gonzales of lying about the shooting being accidental. The prosecutor called Gonzales "a chameleon."

"This case is about a woman who thinks she's smarter than everyone else," Izadi said.

Gonzales' defense attorney, Mark Fredrick, will wait to deliver an opening statement until after the prosecution presents its evidence.

But he hinted at a possible defense when he objected to Izadi calling Abel Gonzales a victim.

"I object to the term 'victim,'" Fredrick told Judge Ronald M. Christianson, who overruled the objection. "He's not the victim in this case."

Since her husband's shooting Mia Gonzales has been jailed in lieu of $2 million bail at the Central Detention Center in San Bernardino.

She cried softly and wiped her face with a tissue during Izadi's opening statement and much of the testimony that followed.

Four witnesses -- all from the Ontario Police Department -- were called to testify today by the prosecution.

Officers who went to the Gonzales home in response to Mia Gonzales' 911 call said that when they arrived, Mia Gonzales and her teenage daughter both rushed outside. Both were distraught, the officers said.

In interviews with police that followed, Mia Gonzales' mood alternated between concern for her children and regret over the shooting.

"I don't want to ruin their lives," she told an officer outside her home. "I didn't mean to."

She later threw up in a trash can in an interview room at the Ontario Police Department, according to testimony.

POMONA -- The double-slaying last year in front of a Mission Boulevard furniture store came at the end of what was supposed to be a simple marijuana purchase, according to court testimony today.

A man who survived the April 29, 2010 shooting in Pomona told a detective that he and two other men parked at about 10:30 p.m. and waited in the car expecting to make a $10 marijuana purchase from a resident of a nearby mobile-home park.

Instead, the group was ambushed by a man who fired at least four shots with a rifle, according to testimony in Pomona Superior Court.

The man in the driver's seat, 44-year-old Michael McCall of Ontario, and the man in the passenger seat, 48-year-old Allen Alexander of Pomona, were shot and killed.

The survivor, Robert Ollie of Pomona, ran from the car when the gunman opened fire, but he traveled only a few feet before he was knocked to the ground by a gunshot to the back.

Testimony about the shooting came during a preliminary hearing for two Pomona men charged in the case: Pedro Martinez, 24, and Maximillan Hernandez, 26.

At the end of the hearing, Judge Tia Fisher ruled that prosecutors presented enough evidence for the case to proceed to trial.

Martinez and Hernandez each face two counts of murder and a count of attempted murder, plus "special allegations" that the crime was committed in association with a street gang.

Because prosecutors have charged the men with two counts of murder, they are eligible for the death penalty.

Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Ian Phan said after the hearing that prosecutors in his office will decide later in the case whether to pursue death.

Detectives first identified Martinez as a suspect through Ollie, who said he called Martinez to arrange the marijuana purchase, according to testimony from Detective Mark McCann.

Martinez was arrested about two months after the shooting, but he was nearly released from custody because prosecutors initially declined to file charges for lack of evidence, McCann testified.

McCann said that in his initial interview with Martinez, he denied being involved in the shooting.

Several days later -- mere hours from the deadline for police to release Martinez -- the suspect again asked to speak to McCann.

Martinez then gave a detailed confession in which he not only cemented the prosecution's case against himself, he also further implicated Hernandez, McCann testified.

Martinez told McCann that the shooting came after a perceived act of disrespect.

He said he met Ollie and the other men at their parked car in the 1000 block of East Mission Boulevard, and Ollie handed him a $1 bill and demanded marijuana, according to McCann.

Martinez took the gesture as an act of disrespect, and he shared the story with Hernandez, another resident of the mobile-home park who prosecutors allege is a gang member.

Martinez told McCann that after he shared the story, Hernandez retrieved a rifle and told Martinez to drive past the group's car, McCann testified.

As Martinez approached the group, Hernandez left the car and opened fire with the rifle, Martinez told McCann.

McCall's brother, Darryl McCall, attended the hearing and said afterward that he believes Martinez and Hernandez should be imprisoned for life.

"That was my brother, my best friend," he said.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- The San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office has filed criminal charges against six recipients of public housing subsidies who allegedly allowed relatives to live with them without authorization.

The charges against the Rancho Cucamonga residents were filed April 4 in West Valley Superior Court. Each defendant was charged with two felonies: defrauding a public housing authority and perjury.

The six defendants are: Ahlam Awad, 34; Una Jean Wolfinbarger, 57; Raymond Hugh Wolfinbarger, 53; Shaire Lynn Wheeler, 59; Bethany Ester Barker, 26; and Valerie Marie Machado, 28.

The Wolfinbargers lived at the Rancho Verde Village Apartments at 8837 Grove Ave., according to police reports contained in the defendants' court file.

The rest of the defendants lived at Woodhaven Manor Apartments at Haven and Lemon avenues, according to police reports.

All of the people charged in the case received financial assistance from the San Bernardino County Housing Authorities, which distributes money from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Recipients of housing assistance funds are required to disclose in their application who will living with them, according to police reports.

The six people charged in the case allowed relatives or boyfriends -- several of whom were parolees -- to live with them without the required prior disclosure, according to police reports.

POMONA -- A judge declared a mistrial this week after a jury deadlocked in its deliberations over the guilt of an 18-year-old man charged with murder and other crimes for an alleged gang killing in south Pomona.

Prosecutors accused Ramiro Hernandez of acting as the driver in a Dec. 19, 2009 car-to-car shooting in which the other driver, 21-year-old Edgar Silva, was shot in the head and killed.

Authorities have not been able to identify the gunman in Silva's killing.

At the conclusion of Hernandez's trial Tuesday in Pomona Superior Court, jurors declared they were "hopelessly deadlocked" in their deliberations over the most serious charges against Hernandez -- murder and attempted murder.

Ten jurors believed he was guilty, while two felt he was not guilty, according to court records. The jury found him guilty of a misdemeanor for possessing ammunition as a minor.

Hernandez is set to return to court Friday for a pretrial hearing. He remains jailed in lieu of $2 million bail at Men's Central Jail in Los Angeles.

A man who was with Silva during the shooting testified in a preliminary hearing that when he and Silva first saw the other car, a man in the front passenger seat flashed gang signs and the vehicle left the area.

The men saw the car a second time at about 9 p.m. near Garey Avenue and Philadelphia Street. The passenger fired about four shots with a handgun at Silva's vehicle, according to Silva's friend's testimony.

POMONA - Two men were sentenced to prison Tuesday after pleading no contest to several crimes in the shooting death of a 31-year-old Montclair woman.

Nelssa Tovar was shot and killed at a south Pomona motel on Feb. 28, 2009 by one of three alleged gang members who came to kill her boyfriend in retaliation for an earlier slaying, according to testimony at a preliminary hearing.

The man accused of shooting Tovar, 19-year-old Florencio Reyes, and another man who opened fire during the incident, 26-year-old Albert Martinez, both pleaded no contest in Pomona Superior Court to attempted murder and other charges. Their pleas came as part of plea agreements with prosecutors.

Reyes was sentenced by Commissioner Wade Olson to 29 years and eight months in prison, while Martinez was sentenced to 48 years and four months, according to court records.

Deputy District Attorney Bjorn Dodd said a plea bargain has been offered to a third man charged in the case, 33-year-old Cesar Sierra, though he won't know until April 26 - Sierra's next court date - whether Sierra wants to accept the offer.

"It sounds like there's a reasonable chance of that, but I have to wait until the 26th to see," Dodd said.

According to testimony at a preliminary hearing, Martinez was tapped by his gang to kill Tovar's boyfriend, Jorge Sandoval, in retaliation for the Feb. 4, 2009 death of Carlos Espinoza, who was shot at Mission Boulevard and Buena Vista Avenue in Pomona.

Martinez scheduled a meeting with Sandoval under the guise of collecting on a drug debt. He recruited Sierra and Reyes to come with him to Sandoval's room at Motel 6 on South Garey Avenue, according to testimony.

Tovar was sitting on the bed in Sandoval's room when Martinez, Sierra and Reyes entered. Martinez robbed Sandoval, then accused him of being involved in Espinoza's killing, according to testimony.

Sandoval ran into the bathroom when Martinez mentioned Espinoza. He closed the door behind him, laid down on the ground and held his feet to the door to hold it shut, according to testimony.

Martinez fired a handgun seven times into the bathroom door. All the shots failed to hit Sandoval. While Martinez was shooting, Reyes shot Tovar in the head, killing her, according to testimony.

Reyes later told Martinez and Sierra that he shot Tovar - whose killing was unplanned - because he didn't want to leave any witnesses, according to testimony.

FONTANA -- A man convicted in the fatal shooting in 2007 of Rialto police officer Sergio Carrera Jr. was sentenced today to 14 years in prison.

Krist Antonio Wiggins' sentence was the longest possible based on verdicts by juries, who convicted Wiggins of involuntary manslaughter plus a "special allegation" that he discharged a firearm.

Before Wiggins, 35, was sentenced by Judge Steven A. Mapes in Fontana Superior Court, he apologized to Carrera's family members and deflected blame for the Oct. 18, 2007 killing.

"I'm sorry about the tragedy and loss that has happened," Wiggins said. "I did not commit this crime. My condolences."

Carrera was one of several members of Rialto's SWAT team who entered Wiggins' apartment on West Cascade Drive to perform a search warrant.

Wiggins, who had skipped bail in Mississippi on charges of selling cocaine, fled into a bedroom as officers entered his apartment and later struggled on the floor with an officer.

During the struggle the officer's assault rifle fired three times, with one of the shots hitting Carrera, 29, in the face.

Carrera, a Moreno Valley native who'd recently moved to Beaumont, left behind a wife, a son who is now five and a newborn daughter who is now three, his family said. He worked at the Rialto Police Department for four years.

There were two trials in Wiggins' case.

At his first, a jury convicted him of involuntary manslaughter but hung on the "special allegation" that he personally discharged a firearm. A second trial ended with a conviction on the special allegation.

Carrera's family members said today that they believe the first jury erred when they found Wiggins not guilty of murder and instead convicted him of involuntary manslaughter.

"Wiggins deserves to be locked up for the maximum amount of time," Octavio Magana, Carrera's brother-in-law, said in a statement during the hearing. "He already got away with murder."

Carrera's sister, Shirley Carrera Magana, said her life has changed drastically as a result of her brother's death.

"I will never see my best friend again, nor will I have my only brother," she said.

After the hearing, the Maganas said they felt Wiggins' apology was insincere.

"Throughout the whole trial he would snicker, smile," Octavio Magana said.

Wiggins has been jailed since Carrera's death, and he was credited today with nearly four years of custody time which will be shaved off his prison sentence.

He's expected to be in prison for another eight and a half years, Carrera's family members said.

When he completes his prison term in California, Wiggins could be extradited to Mississippi to be prosecuted for allegedly selling cocaine.

After being arrested in that case, a judge lowered Wiggins' bail to $30,000 and he posted bond. He then fled the state to avoid the charges, according to authorities.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- A 25-year-old man was convicted of 28 felonies this afternoon for participating in a series of armed robberies across the Inland Valley.

Prosecutors believe Cruz Rodriguez Vasquez will face a prison sentence of at least 20 years as a result of his convictions, which were reached by a jury after six days of deliberations in West Valley Superior Court.

Prosecutors accused Vasquez and another man, 36-year-old Jose Antonio Rivera, of holding up 20 businesses in a five-month period in 2009.

Rivera was armed with a handgun during the robberies, while Vasquez was responsible for gathering cash and driving the getaway vehicle, according to prosecutors.

"(Vasquez's) job was to basically take the money from the register," said Deputy District Attorney Deborah Ploghaus.

Half the robberies were committed in Ontario, while other robberies occurred in Claremont, Pomona, Montclair, Upland, Rancho Cucamonga and Fontana, according to authorities.

Vasquez, of El Monte, was convicted of 22 counts of robbery and six counts of attempted robbery.

On Monday, a jury convicted Rivera of all 35 counts against him -- 28 counts of robbery and seven counts of attempted robbery.

The men are scheduled to be sentenced May 5 by Judge Shahla Sabet.

Ploghaus said Monday that Rivera will likely be sentenced to a prison term long enough to keep him in custody the rest of his life.

Vasquez and Rivera primarily targeted mobile phone stores such as Metro PCS, according to police.

They also targeted Islas Tropical Fruits in Ontario, Aloha Grill in Upland, a Chevron gas station in Claremont, Red Hill gas station in Rancho Cucamonga, and a Zap Wireless store in Upland.

The men, who met through work in Chino, stole on average about $700 from each store, with the highest yield being about $1,200, police said.

The men were arrested after committing a robbery on Oct. 8, 2009 in Upland. Both men then confessed to detectives.

"(Vasquez) told me he's been unemployed and he has a 20-year-old girlfriend he has a 5-year-old son with," Ontario police Detective Roger Planas testified during Vasquez's trial. "He has to help provide for the 5-year-old boy and the 20-year-old girlfriend, and he has bills to pay."

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- A jury found a 36-year-old Ontario man guilty of nearly three dozen felonies today in connection with a series of armed robberies.

The verdicts reached in West Valley Superior Court will likely result in a prison sentence long enough to keep Jose Antonio Rivera in custody the rest of his life, a prosecutor said.

Rivera and another man, 25-year-old Cruz Rodriguez Vasquez, are accused of committing about 20 armed robberies of local businesses over five months in 2009.

Half the robberies were committed in Ontario, while others occurred in Pomona, Claremont, Montclair, Upland, Rancho Cucamonga and Fontana, according to testimony during the men's trial.

Rivera threatened employees with a gun during the robberies, and Vasquez, of El Monte, helped during the heists and served as the getaway driver, according to prosecutors.

Rivera is scheduled to be sentenced May 5 by Judge Shahla Sabet.

He was convicted today of 28 counts of robbery and seven counts of attempted robbery, as well as numerous "special allegations" for using a firearm that will lengthen his prison sentence.

A different jury was seated to hear Vasquez's case. They are set to resume their deliberations Tuesday morning, said Deputy District Attorney Deborah Ploghaus.

Pictured (L-R): Orban and Jelinek.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- A former correctional officer has reached a plea bargain with prosecutors in connection with the alleged kidnap and rape last year of an Ontario Mills waitress.

Jeff Thomas Jelinek, 31, pleaded no contest to three felonies Wednesday after entering into an agreement that requires him to testify against his co-defendant, said Deputy District Attorney Deborah Ploghaus.

Jelinek's plea agreement carries a sentence of five years and four months, Ploghaus said.

Jelinek's co-defendant is Anthony Nicholas Orban, a former Marine and Westminster police detective who allegedly kidnapped a woman at gunpoint on April 3, 2010 in the parking lot at Ontario Mills.

Orban, 31, allegedly beat and sexually assaulted the 26-year-old mother for more than an hour in a parked car in Fontana, according to a police report and testimony at a preliminary hearing.

Though prosecutors do not accuse Jelinek of participating in the alleged assault, he was charged with rape and other crimes under the theory that he aided and abetted Orban by standing beside him during the alleged kidnapping.

And after the assault, Jelinek picked Orban up and tried to delete incriminating text messages from him, according to prosecutors.

At the time of the incident Jelinek worked at the California Institution for Men in Chino.

Jelinek pleaded no contest in West Valley Superior Court to an accessory charge, false imprisonment and assault with a firearm on a person.

The convictions carry a strike toward the state's three-strikes law, Ploghaus said.

The remaining charges against him -- which could have carried a life prison sentence -- will be dismissed at sentencing, according to court records.

A trial for Orban, of Irvine, is scheduled to begin Monday, according to court records.

When Orban was interviewed following his arrest, he told police he had no memory of the alleged assault. He also said he was taking prescription medication.

Orban's attorney and wife have said they believe the prescription medication contributed to Orban's actions and memory loss.

"There's no denying what happened," Orban's wife, Tracy Orban, said in a November TV news interview. "Something happened to his brain."

Orban's defense team is expected to call several expert witnesses to testify about the effects of the medication.

Orban's attorney, James Blatt, did not return a call seeking comment today. Jelinek's attorney, Ciprian Turcu, also did not return a call seeking comment.

LOS ANGELES - A judge ruled this afternoon that three Pomona men must stand trial for murder and other charges in connection with a string of three alleged gang killings two years ago.

The ruling by Judge Ronald S. Coen came at the conclusion of a three-day preliminary hearing in which prosecutors presented evidence linking the defendants to the shooting death of a Pomona man, the fatal strangling of a Covina woman, and the bludgeoning death of an El Monte man.

At the center of the case is 33-year-old Robert Louis Caballero, an alleged member of Pomona's 12th Street gang and the only defendant charged with three counts of murder.

According to police and other witnesses who testified in the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center, Caballero shot and killed a rival gang member, 25-year-old Armando Vidana, in Pomona on Sept. 29, 2009.

Knowing he was wanted by police for Vidana's slaying, Caballero left Pomona and spent the next month in Las Vegas. He returned to Pomona a month later with an 18-year-old girlfriend he met in Las Vegas, according to testimony.

After arriving in Pomona, Caballero allegedly went on a weeklong methamphetamine-fueled crime spree in which he repeatedly beat and raped his girlfriend, participated in a robbery and shooting, and orchestrated the killings of Lorraine Minjarez, 32, and David Padilla, 29.

The other two alleged gang members charged in the case are 28-year-old Pete Trejo, who is accused of assisting Caballero in Minjarez's killing, and 20-year-old Andrew Valenzuela, who allegedly killed Padilla upon orders from Caballero. Each man was held to answer today on one count of murder.

Caballero and the other two defendants are eligible for the death penalty. Prosecutors won't decide until later whether to pursue death, Deputy District Attorney Bjorn Dodd said.

The three men are next due in court April 22. They have not been offered bail. Caballero and Trejo are jailed at Men's Central Jail in downtown Los Angeles, while Valenzuela is jailed at the Pitchess Detention Center in Castaic.

According to testimony today, Vidana, a member of the Cherryville street gang, was shot 8 times, including once in the head, in the early morning hours of Sept. 29, 2009.

Authorities tied Caballero to the shooting through ballistics testing, and through witnesses who said that in the weeks following the shooting, Caballero admitted he killed Vidana, according to testimony.

After Caballero returned to Pomona from Las Vegas in late October, he and his then-18-year-old girlfriend spent several days with many of Caballero's friends, family members and gang associates.

Minjarez, who was one of Caballero's friends, and Padilla, who was his cousin, came along with Caballero and his girlfriend when they robbed a prostitute the night of Nov. 4.

The night of the robbery, Minjarez told Caballero she knew he was avoiding police because of Vidana's killing, and she made a comment that Caballero believed was a threat to turn him in, according to testimony.

Because of her threat, Caballero allegedly strangled Minjarez to death the following day in an isolated area of the San Gabriel Mountains near Mount Baldy Road.

According to testimony from Caballero's former girlfriend, Trejo kept watch during the strangling, then helped Caballero bury Minjarez and cover the burial site with large boulders.

After he killed Minjarez, he allegedly directed Padilla to place a phone call related to Minjarez's slaying, according to testimony.

Caballero believed Padilla botched the phone call, and he suspected Padilla, an alleged member of the El Monte Flores street gang, might be setting him up.

The day after he killed Minjarez, Caballero allegedly recruited two other gang members - Padilla and Valenzuela - and asked them to travel with him to an isolated area in Chino under the guise of helping him kill his girlfriend.

But when the group of four - Caballero, his girlfriend, Padilla and Valenzuela - traveled to an area where train tracks pass under the 60 Freeway, he ordered Valenzuela to kill Padilla, according to testimony in the preliminary hearing.

Valenzuela at first refused, but Caballero allegedly threatened to kill Valenzuela if he refused to carry out the order.

Valenzuela then strangled Padilla with a shoelace and bludgeoned him with a large rock. The stone Valenzuela used was so heavy he could only lift it with two hands, according to testimony from Caballero's former girlfriend.

The day after Padilla's death, Pomona police arrested Caballero following a brief high-speed chase in eastern Pomona and western Montclair. He was driving Minjarez's car, a silver Dodge Charger.

His girlfriend was in the car during the chase, and authorities believe Caballero might have killed her next had police not located him.

LOS ANGELES - Anthony Caballero potentially faced the death penalty two years ago when he was charged with murder in connection with his cousin's alleged string of three killings.

But this afternoon he took the witness stand a free man, having accepted a plea bargain in which he admitted to a lesser charge in exchange for his testimony.

Caballero, of Pomona, testified that he didn't know his cousin planned to allegedly strangle a woman in November 2009 when his cousin asked for a ride into the San Gabriel Mountains.

The 25-year-old said he believed his cousin, Robert Caballero, was making the trip up Mount Baldy Road to party and possibly have sex. Two women and one of Caballero's male friends, Pete Trejo, came along on the daytime trip.

Anthony Caballero testified that he didn't learn the truth about Robert Caballero's trip until several days later, when he heard his cousin's name on the news and saw pictures on TV of the spot where he dropped off the group.

According to prosecutors, Robert Caballero allegedly strangled one of the women, 32-year-old Lorraine Minjarez, and with the assistance of Trejo buried her in a shallow grave near Mount Baldy Road.

Anthony Caballero's testimony came during a preliminary hearing for Robert Caballero, Trejo, and Andrew Valenzuela, three alleged Pomona gang members charged with murder in connection with three slayings in September and November 2009.

Prosecutors have charged Robert Caballero, 33, with three counts of murder: for Minjarez's slaying, for David Padilla's killing in Chino the following day, and for the Sept. 29, 2009 shooting death in Pomona of Armando Vidana.

Trejo, 28, is accused of helping Robert Caballero kill Minjarez, while Valenzuela, 20, is accused of killing Padilla - a member of the same Pomona gang - upon orders from Caballero.

The preliminary hearing, in which prosecutors must present evidence against the defendants for the case to proceed to trial, is set to resume Friday morning in the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles.

Anthony Caballero testified that his cousin called him asking for a ride home at about 8:30 a.m. the day of Minjarez's killing.

But when Anthony arrived at the house in Pomona where his cousin was staying, Robert suggested a trip into the mountains.

He promised Anthony Caballero that he'd be back in Pomona in time for Anthony to take his wife to the hospital that afternoon for a scheduled surgery, according to Anthony's testimony.

From the time he met with his cousin to the time he left him that afternoon, Anthony Caballero said he never suspected his cousin killed one of the women on the trip.

He said the group appeared normal, and Minjarez seemed to be in a good mood. She was singing during the trip into the mountains, Anthony Caballero testified.

He said the only passenger in his car who seemed abnormal was Robert Caballero's girlfriend. The woman, then 18, seemed like he was high, he testified.

It was shortly after 10 a.m. when Robert directed Anthony to pull over in the mountains on the side of the road. Robert Caballero, Trejo and the two women then set off east down a trail, Anthony Caballero testified.

Several hours passed and the group hadn't returned, so Anthony set off down Mount Baldy Road to an area where he got reception on his cell phone. He testified that he had to call his wife to explain he'd be late in picking her up for her surgery.

When Anthony drove back up Mount Baldy Road after placing the call, he saw Robert Caballero, Trejo and the then-18-year-old woman walking on the side of the road.

Anthony asked his cousin where the other woman was, and Robert replied, "Don't worry about her," according to Anthony's testimony.

Anthony Caballero's testimony verified much of the account of Minjarez's slaying given in testimony the last two days by Caballero's former girlfriend. She completed her testimony this morning.

LOS ANGELES - The key witness in a triple-murder case spent nearly the entire day today on the witness stand, detailing two killings she saw as well as the frequent beatings and rapes she allegedly suffered at the hand of one of the defendants.

The woman, a former Las Vegas resident whose name is withheld for fear of retaliation, testified during a preliminary hearing for three alleged Pomona gang members charged with murder.

Robert Caballero, 33, is charged with three counts of murder for the following killings: the Sept. 29, 2009 shooting death of Armando Vidana, the strangulation of Lorraine Minjarez on Nov. 5, 2009, and the beating death the following day of David Padilla.

Two other men - 28-year-old Pete Trejo and 20-year-old Andrew Valenzuela - are each charged with one count of murder for allegedly assisting Caballero in one of the killings.

Much of the Las Vegas woman's testimony in the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center bordered on surreal.

She said she was held captive by Caballero and kept awake for several consecutive days around the time Minjarez and Padilla were killed, when the woman was 18.

"I was with him at all times," she testified. "I wasn't to be left alone."

She said she was injected with methamphetamine against her will by Caballero, and was high for several straight days. Caballero was also constantly using meth, the woman said.

Caballero, her one-time boyfriend, allegedly beat her and raped her numerous times. He allegedly forced her to perform oral sex on a man who paid Caballero for the act.

Caballero also repeatedly threatened to kill the woman, and described in detail the various methods he might use to kill her, she testified.

But the woman seemed most shaken when describing her forced participation in the slayings of Minjarez and Padilla, who Caballero allegedly killed because he feared they would turn him over to police.

Caballero allegedly forced the woman to slice Minjarez's throat after he strangled her, and forced her to hit Padilla with a rock, she testified.

Caballero told her that if she ever spoke to authorities about the killings, she'd be equally guilty because of her participation, the woman testified.

The woman is set to retake the witness stand Thursday morning.

The woman and Caballero met in October 2009 at the Las Vegas apartment complex where they both lived, the woman testified.

She later learned Caballero was staying in Nevada to avoid police in Pomona, where he was wanted for killing Vidana, she testified.

They began a dating relationship about a week after meeting, and she agreed to travel with him to Pomona because she wanted to see her mother, who lived in the area. The woman said they arrived in Pomona on about Oct. 30.

During their visit they stayed at the homes of several of Caballero's friends. Caballero and his friends were constantly using meth, searching for meth, and committing crimes or begging to obtain money to purchase more meth, the woman said.

While Caballero, the woman and others were out searching for a robbery victim the night of Nov. 4, Minjarez, 32, reportedly told Caballero that she knew he shot Vidana, a rival gang member, and might turn him in.

The next day, Caballero traveled into the San Gabriel Mountains with Minjarez, the witness and Trejo.

Once the group reached an isolated spot in the mountains, Caballero strangled Minjarez to death, the woman testified. He debating aloud about whether to kill the witness, but opted not to.

Instead, he forced her to slice Minjarez's throat with a knife and urinate on her body, reportedly so that her DNA would be left on Minjarez's body, the woman testified.

"How does it feel to have committed a murder?" Caballero allegedly told the woman after Minjarez's death.

The next day, Caballero traveled with Valenzuela, Padilla and the witness to an area in Chino where train tracks pass under the 60 Freeway.

The purpose of the trip, as stated by Caballero, was to kill the woman from Las Vegas.

But once the group arrived under the freeway overpass, Caballero ordered Valenzuela to kill Padilla, the woman testified.

Caballero told Padilla he failed to place a phone call to cover for Minjarez's slaying, and he feared Padilla might be setting him up, the woman testified.

Valenzuela hesitated following Caballero's order to kill Padilla - both were members of the same gang - but Caballero gave him an ultimatum, the woman testified.

"Robert told him, 'It's either you or him,'" the woman testified.

Valenzuela began strangling Padilla, and Caballero ordered the woman to assist by beating Padilla with a rock. Before Padilla, 29, was dead, Caballero and the woman walked away to let Valenzuela complete the slaying, the woman testified.

Caballero was arrested the following day after police found him driving a car belonging to Minjarez, who had been reported missing.

The woman from Las Vegas was in the car with him, and authorities believe Caballero might have planned to kill her next.

POMONA - A 28-year-old drunken driver who killed two of his passengers after driving into a tree last year in La Verne pleaded guilty today to two counts of murder.

Alan Michael McConnell of Covina entered his pleas in Pomona Superior Court after reaching a plea agreement with prosecutors. A trial in his case was set to begin this week.

He is scheduled to be sentenced April 22, according to a news release from the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

McConnell's agreement with prosecutors carries a sentence of 15 years to life, which is half the penalty of 30 years to life he could have received if convicted in a trial.

McConnell is accused of driving into a tree in the median of Foothill Boulevard near Moreno Avenue at about 12:45 a.m. on Jan. 23, 2010.

Two of his passengers were killed in the crash: Telassie Dague, 22, and Renee Hardy, 20, both of Rancho Cucamonga. McConnell suffered only minor injuries.

McConnell's blood-alcohol content was measured after the crash at 0.15, nearly twice the legal limit of 0.08.

Before the accident, McConnell, Dague and Hardy had been drinking in the bar at the Chaparral Lanes bowling alley in San Dimas. They were reportedly on their way to another bar.

One of Dague's friends testified at a preliminary hearing last year that she pleaded with the group not to drive because all three were visibly drunk.

Before driving into the tree, McConnell collided with another car when he ran a red light at Foothill and Damien Avenue in La Verne.

The driver of the other car testified last year that McConnell appeared to pull over to the side of the road before speeding away at about 70 mph.

McConnell's car caromed off the curb on the right side of the street, then made a hard left turn across lanes into the median of Foothill, where it hit a tree, according to the driver of the other car.

McConnell faced prosecution for murder rather than vehicular manslaughter because he has a prior conviction for DUI.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA - After hearing testimony Tuesday during a preliminary hearing, a judge ruled that prosecutors have enough evidence for a priest's molestation case to proceed to trial.

Alejandro Castillo, the 57-year-old former pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Ontario, is accused of molesting a then-12-year-old parishioner in 2008.

Judge Colin J. Bilash ruled Tuesday that Castillo must stand trial on eight counts of committing lewd or lascivious acts with a child. One of the counts alleges the sexual contact was forcible, said Deputy Distrist Attorney Karen Schmauss.

The judge's ruling in West Valley Superior Court came following testimony from Ontario police Detective Mark Guski.

Castillo, called "Father Alex" by parishioners, is accused of molesting the boy at the church between October and December 2008.

Schmauss said Castillo offered to let the boy to spend the night at the church while he was playing soccer in Ontario. The boy, who is now 15, lives outside of the city, Schmauss said.

Castillo was arrested Oct. 25, 2010 at a parishioner's home in the 600 block of West Zenia Court in Ontario. Police began investigating the abuse allegations in July.

Castillo, who worked at the church for seven years before his arrest, remains free on $300,000 bail. He is next due in court April 28.

Pictured: Ethan Esparza

POMONA - After hearing testimony for two days about the fatal shooting here of 3-year-old Ethan Esparza, a judge ruled today that there's enough evidence for the boy's alleged killer to stand trial.

Pablo Adame, a 27-year-old Paramount native, is accused of firing several shots on Nov. 19, 2006 at a group of teens gathered outside a home in the 800 block of East Columbia Avenue where Ethan's upcoming birthday was being celebrated.

Ethan, who was playing in the front yard, died after being struck in the chest by one of the bullets. He would have turned four the next day.

According to witnesses who testified during a preliminary hearing in Pomona Superior Court, Adame was upset over taunts and aggressive stares he received from young men who often stood in front of the home in the 800 block of East Columbia Avenue.

Adame was an alleged member of a Compton-area gang, and was living in Pomona at his grandmother's house after being released from prison.

Some of the young men who angered Adame were among the intended targets in the shooting, according to authorities.

Adrian Ramirez, then 16, was shot once in the hip area, and David Diaz, then 15, was fired at but not hit.

Judge Robert Martinez ruled this afternoon that prosecutors presented sufficient evidence during the preliminary hearing for Adame to stand trial on one count of murder and two counts of attempted murder.

Adame is next due in court April 19. He remains jailed in lieu of $4 million bail.

Among the witnesses who testified today was Ethan's grandmother, Maria Del Pilar Torres, who lived at the home where Ethan was shot.

She testified that at the time of the shooting, there were several small children playing in front of the home, including Ethan, who was playing with a small toy car his grandfather give him for his birthday.

Torres said she didn't have a view of the shooter. But she did recognize Adame in court as a man who would sometimes walk past her house.

"He would only go by," she testified. "I never saw him inside my house."

Torres began crying during her testimony when a prosecutor showed her a photo of Ethan lying in a hospital bed.

One of Adame's alleged gang associates, Ramon Magdeleno, was called to testify about Ethan's killing. He is serving a 10-year prison term in Oregon for attempted murder and was handcuffed during his testimony.

On the witness stand, Magdeleno denied he knew anything about Ethan's shooting. But after his denial, the prosecution played an audio recording in court that showed otherwise.

The recording was from a phone call that Madgeleno placed to his sister from Snake River Correctional Institution in Ontario, Oregon after Detective Dana Kono visited him to ask about Ethan's killing.

He first asked his sister if she remembered "Billy" or "Youngster," both of which are nicknames for Adame.

He then said a detective from Pomona visited him that day and asked if he knew who shot Ethan. He told his sister he knew, but refused to assist the detective.

The final witness called to testify in the preliminary hearing was Detective Dan Kono. He said he interviewed Ramirez and Diaz - members of the "tagging crew" who often stood in front of the home where Ethan was shot.

Diaz told him that while he and his friends stood in front of the home, they often flashed gang signs "to passersby they didn't know," Kono testified.

POMONA - A 24-year-old man convicted of murdering a man to avenge his brother's slaying had his future prison sentence significantly lengthened today when a jury convicted him of a key "special allegation" that he used a firearm.

A jury of seven men and five women deliberated two days in Pomona Superior Court before unanimously agreeing this afternoon that Joel Martin used a firearm in Feb. 4, 2009 killing of Carlos Espinoza.

Espinoza, 22, died after a gunman in a passing Chevy Astro van shot him six times while he waited at a bus stop near Mission Boulevard and Buena Vista Avenue in Pomona.

Prosecutors allege Martin targeted Espinoza because he was friends with the alleged gang members who shot and killed his brother two months earlier.

The trial that ended today was Martin's second. At his first trial, held last year, a jury convicted him of second-degree murder but deadlocked on whether he personally discharged a firearm.

Prosecutors pursued a second trial in Martin's case because the special allegation carries an extra prison term of 25 years to life.

Second-degree murder carries a sentence of 15 years to life. With today's verdict, Martin now faces a prison term of 40 years to life, said his attorney, Antonio Bestard. Martin is scheduled to be sentenced April 26.

Police identified Martin as the suspect in the shooting based on the dying words of Espinoza, who told two officers that the shooter was a man he knew by the nickname "Guero," whose brother had recently been shot to death.

But after the shooting, there was no trace of Martin in Pomona. More than a year passed before Detective Mark McCann discovered that Martin was living with his brother in Portales, New Mexico.

When McCann interviewed Martin after his arrest, Martin denied his involvement before finally confessing that he was Espinoza's killer. He also acknowledged that "Guero" was his nickname.

In his closing argument to the jury, Bestard suggested that Martin's confession was false, and only contained facts about the killing that were gleaned from the detective's questions.

Martin's prosecutor, Deputy District Attorney Bjorn Dodd, dismissed Bestard's theory as implausible.

"Why would he ever admit to being in that van or being part of it?" Dodd said.

Pictured: Ethan Esparza

POMONA - The man charged with murdering 3-year-old Ethan Esparza in a drive-by shooting nearly five years ago targeted the home because he often received hostile comments and aggressive looks from a man who stood out front, according to court testimony today.

The accused shooter, 27-year-old Pablo Adame, didn't know Ethan, his family, or the man who often bothered him when he walked by the home in the 800 block of East Columbia Avenue in Pomona.

But he was "fed up" from what he perceived as harassment, and opened fire on Nov. 19, 2006 during a party at the house, according to testimony from Manuel Gonzales, a former gang associate of Adame's.

Of the estimated seven shots Adame allegedly fired from his Cadillac Escalade at about 6:20 p.m., one of the bullets struck Ethan, killing him.

The party at Ethan's grandparents' home was thrown to celebrate the toddler's fourth birthday, which would have come the day after his death.

Gonzales and other witnesses testified today in Pomona Superior Court during Adame's preliminary hearing, in which prosecutors must present enough evidence against Adame for the case to proceed to trial.

The hearing is scheduled to resume this morning.

Gonzales testified that the night of the shooting, Adame told him and other members of their Compton-based gang about the incident.

But Adame, who went by the moniker "Youngster," believed he'd shot the man who'd been giving him problems. He was apparently unaware he'd killed a toddler, Gonzales testified.

"He said he lit up on that guy that was messing with him," Gonzales testified. "That's what he said."

Two other victims of the shooting were called to testify today by the prosecution.

But Adrian Ramirez and David Diaz remained silent, and went to extreme lengths to telegraph their intention to not cooperate with authorities.

Ramirez, who was 16 at the time of Ethan's death, was shot in the hip when Adame allegedly opened fire. Diaz, then 15, was also allegedly an intended target but was not hurt.

The men, who are both serving prison terms, refused to raise their right hands to be sworn in to testify. They refused to give their names. They refused to respond to all questions from a prosecutor and a judge - even questions that seemed relatively innocuous.

Ramirez, who a detective said was an uncle or godfather to Ethan, has a tattoo on the right side of his neck that says, "RIP Ethan."

Yet he refused to respond when Deputy District Attorney Bjorn Dodd showed him a picture of Ethan and asked if he recognized the boy.

"Let me ask you this: Did Ethan mean anything to you? Are you afraid to answer that question?" Judge Robert Martinez said.

David Diaz, who is serving a 16- month sentence, also sat stone-faced when shown Ethan's picture.

"Do you recognize the child in that photograph? Yes or no? You're ordered to answer the question," Martinez said. The judge found Diaz in contempt of court and ordered that he serve five days in jail.

Ramirez was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of murder for the 2009 shooting death in Pomona of Arthur David Perez, 25.

Pomona police Detective Dan Kono said after the hearing that the men might have remained silent because they fear retribution in prison.

"I just think they're in an environment where taking the stand and testifying might cost them their lives," Kono said.

At the time of the shooting, Adame was living in Pomona at his grandmother's house. He was originally from the Paramount area, but he moved to Pomona after being released from prison, Kono said.

According to detectives who investigated Ethan's killing, Adame's gang did not have any long-standing disputes with any Pomona gangs.

Adame's sole motive in the shooting was to respond to what he felt was harassment from members of a teenage tagging crew that hung out in front of Ethan's grandparents' house, Kono said.

Gonzales, Adame's former gang associate, was in custody and dressed in blue jail scrubs during his testimony. He is serving a 15-year prison term for assault with a deadly weapon and other crimes.

He testified that he left his gang and is now segregated in his prison's "special needs yard." He said his family members were relocated because of the potential danger they face for his cooperation with law enforcement.

"I wanted to talk to (police)," Gonzales testified. "It was wrong. Killing a little kid is not good."

Gonzales testified that two or three years ago, while he and Adame were both in Kern Valley State Prison in Delano, Adame approached him on the prison recreation yard and asked him to stay quiet about Ethan's killing.

Gonzales said Adame likely wanted to keep his responsibility for the shooting quiet in prison because killing a young child is a "no-no" among gang members.

"If people find out, it's going to ruin his (gang) career," Gonzales said.

Adame's sister, who asked that she remain unnamed, said in an interview that she believes Gonzales is lying about her brother's alleged confession. She said her brother would not respond so violently to taunts from strangers.

"It sounds ridiculous," she said.

ONTARIO -- An alleged pimp stands accused of committing numerous crimes against a 17-year-old girl and a 30-year-old woman who police believe he was grooming to work as prostitutes for him.

Tremaine Ulysses Smiler, 38, of Ontario, allegedly raped both victims and tortured them by burning them with a hot iron.

The 30-year-old woman's lips were disfigured when Smiler burned her face with a clothing iron, according to testimony at a preliminary hearing from an Ontario police officer.

Smiler's prosecutor, Deputy District Attorney Karen Schmauss, said today that Smiler has been convicted of similar acts against women in the past, and could face life in prison if found guilty in his current case.

"If he's not stopped, he'll just do it again and again," Schmauss said.

Smiler remains jailed in lieu of $2 million bail at West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga. He is next due April 15 in West Valley Superior Court.

The 18 felony counts Smiler currently faces stem from alleged acts in July 2009 in Anaheim and Ontario.

The 17-year-old girl told police she met Smiler that month while both were living at the Econo Lodge in Ontario at 724 S. San Antonio Ave.

The girl said she and Smiler had consensual sex twice in Ontario before he took her to Anaheim with a prostitute, where the group spent several days in a motel.

According to Officer Ryan Ronveaux, one of Smiler's reasons for making the trip was to teach the 17-year-old about the prostitution trade.

"To observe how the prostitutes would flag down your John Does, each sex act that prostitutes do, how much it cost, and what exactly what went on with it," Ronveaux testified at a preliminary hearing in September.

While the girl and Smiler were in Anaheim, he allegedly used pliers to pinch one of her nipples and threatened to harm her and her family. He later forced her to have sex.

"You better make me happy, or your kids are going to get hurt," Smiler told the girl, who has two children, according to Ronveaux's testimony.

Later during their trip to Anaheim, Smiler became angry at the girl when he saw her talking to another pimp, Ronveaux testified.

"He plugged a hair straightener into an electrical outlet and heated it up," the officer testified. "... He proceeded to apply the hot straightener to the victim's pubic area."

The girl contacted police about three days after returning to Ontario.

On July 27, 2009, the 30-year-old woman, who was an ex-prostitute and transient, met Smiler at about 1 a.m. in the area of Euclid Avenue and Philadelphia Street in Ontario.

Smiler invited her to a nearby home where he was staying.

The woman said she worried Smiler was a pimp, but she accepted his invitation because she was desperate to shower and wash her clothes, according to testimony at Smiler's preliminary hearing from Officer Gregory Clinton.

While she was with Smiler at the house, he burned her butt and face with a hot clothing iron. Perhaps the woman's worst injury was a burn to her lips, which left them badly mangled, Clinton testified.

"It was burned skin," he said. "It was disfigured. Her lips were disfigured."

Schmauss said the victims' allegations are similar to Smiler's past acts of violence against women.

In 1998, he was sentenced to four years in prison in Victorville for torturing and sodomizing his girlfriend, who he accused of cheating on him. He burned the woman's nose with a hot iron, Schmauss said.

He was sentenced to five years in prison in 2004 for forcing a woman in Upland to have sex at knifepoint, Schmauss said.

In Smiler's current case, Schmauss said she doesn't expect to offer him a plea agreement because no offer would carry a sentence shorter than life.

"It's going to go to trial, because we're not making any offers," Schmauss said. "My offer is life in prison."

LOS ANGELES -- An alleged serial killer whose victims included a Claremont woman slain in 1986 pleaded guilty today to seven counts of murder.

John Floyd Thomas Jr.'s guilty pleas were entered in the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors, who agreed not to seek the death penalty.

Thomas, 74, was sentenced today by Judge George Lomeli to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Thomas' prosecutor, Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Rachel Moser Greene, said the decision to not seek the death penalty against Thomas was approved at the highest levels of her office.

She said that because of Floyd's advanced age and the lengthy appeals process for inmates sentenced to death, Floyd would likely reach age 100 before being executed.

A sentence of life without parole "achieves the same end, pragmatically speaking," as a death sentence, Greene said.

"He's going to be denied his liberty until nature takes its course," Greene said.

Thomas, dubbed the "Westside Rapist" in the 1970s while allegedly committing a string of unsolved rapes, was arrested two years ago after investigators obtained a sample of his DNA and found that it matched physical evidence from several unsolved killings.

Prosecutors eventually charged Thomas with seven counts of murder for slayings committed between 1972 and 1986. Most of the the victims, who ranged in age from 56 to 80, were also sexually assaulted.

Of the seven victims contained in the charges, only one lived in Claremont or the surrounding area, though authorities believe Floyd may be responsible for three other suspicious deaths and several unsolved sexual assaults there in the 1980s, when he lived in the area.

The Claremont killing for which Floyd now stands convicted is that of 56-year-old Adrienne Askew, who was raped and strangled on June 25, 1986 in her apartment at Bonita Terrace Apartments, 660 W. Bonita Ave.

The other six victims -- who were killed between 1972 and 1976 -- include three women in Los Angeles, two in Inglewood, and one in Lennox, an unincorporated community near Inglewood.

When Floyd's arrest was announced, officials from the Los Angeles Police Department said he may have been responsible for as many as 30 killings in the 1970s and 1980s.

Police said Floyd targeted older women who lived alone. He would break into their homes, rape them, then strangle them to death while obscuring their faces with bedding such as a sheet or pillow.

Floyd's DNA sample was obtained in October 2008 by investigators who were building a DNA database of sex offenders.

Floyd had twice been convicted of sexual assault, most recently in 1978 for the rape of a Pasadena woman.

Before his arrest in 2009, Floyd worked for the State Compensation Fund in Glendale. He had held his job at the agency since 1989.