The deadly stabbing of a homeless man in Barrio Logan final yr was a gang-motivated act of revenge within the wake of one other killing in Chicano Park, a prosecutor mentioned Tuesday.
Deputy District Legal professional Melissa Mack informed a decide that three younger males killed Arturo Reyes, 64, on July 22, 2021, two days after Danilo Gudiel, 18, was killed on the historic park in Barrio Logan.
Police allege Reyes killed Gudiel.
Mack mentioned the three males killed Reyes as a result of they wished to “get justice.”
Mack’s assertion got here in the beginning of a preliminary listening to in San Diego Superior Courtroom for the lads accused of homicide in Reyes’ demise. On the finish of the listening to — which is about to proceed Wednesday — Superior Courtroom Choose Marian Gaston will decide whether or not the prosecution introduced sufficient proof to order the defendants — Irvin Torres, 21, Angel Olea, 22, and Andrew Juanillo, 24 — to face trial.
Along with homicide, Juanillo, Olea and Torres face allegations they killed Reyes for the good thing about a gang. Juanillo and Olea additionally face different expenses, together with assault with a lethal weapon. A criticism alleges they assaulted Reyes the identical day Gudiel was killed.
Gudiel was stabbed in his chest July 19, 2021. When officers arrived, they discovered he had been loaded onto the mattress of a pickup. A gaggle of about 15 folks surrounded the officers as they rendered assist to Gudiel, prompting them to name for backup, officers testified Tuesday.
San Diego police Detective Robert Hopper mentioned folks within the crowd had been upset apparently as a result of they thought an ambulance that confirmed up on the scene didn’t get there quickly sufficient.
San Diego police Officer Gregory Simon testified that paramedics confirmed up about 10 minutes after officers arrived.
Gudiel was taken to a hospital, the place he died. As detectives investigated the murder, a tense standoff between the group and officers on the scene stretched into the evening.
Two days later, Reyes was stabbed. Two bystanders discovered his physique about 3 a.m. on a sidewalk on Nationwide Avenue close to the intersection with Sigsbee Avenue.
Reyes had suffered a number of stab wounds, together with a wound to his neck. He died at a hospital.
Investigators testified in court docket that they suspected a attainable connection between the 2 stabbings. They mentioned they realized that an officer, who was headed to Chicano Park after Gudiel was attacked, witnessed two males assaulting Reyes in the course of the road on Cesar Chavez Parkway.
The officer stopped and intervened, and the attackers ran away.
Reyes informed the officer he had been overwhelmed up earlier the identical day in Chicano Park. Police got here to imagine later that Reyes had gotten right into a combat with Gudiel in a restroom on the park and fatally stabbed him, based on the testimony. A knife was discovered on Reyes the day he was killed.
Hopper, referring to police body-worn digital camera video, mentioned the clothes of one in all males who attacked Reyes in the course of the road matched what Juanillo was sporting at Chicano Park later within the evening.
Reyes was discovered useless two days later.
Within the aftermath of Reyes’ killing, police obtained surveillance video from a enterprise within the space. San Diego police Sgt. Geoffrey DeCesari mentioned footage appeared to point out the assault on Reyes, though the sergeant acknowledged the video is grainy and that it’s troublesome to determine anybody within the footage.
San Diego police Detective Kevin Jankowski mentioned social media posts and messages present the defendants’ hyperlink to a road gang in Barrio Logan and the encircling areas. He mentioned photographs additionally present the defendants had been identified to hang around with one another and Gudiel.
Testimony is predicted to renew Wednesday.
