Acquittal in SR beating death
Defense cites conflicting testimony in trial of man accused of killing gang rival with baseball bat
Friday, February 4, 2005
By STEVE HART
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
After a month-long trial, a Sonoma County jury on Thursday acquitted a 20-year-old man in the baseball bat killing of a rival gang member in Santa Rosa's troubled Apple Valley neighborhood last year.
Jose Antonio Cardenas hugged his attorney after a clerk read the verdict in Superior Court. He was scheduled to be released Thursday night from Sonoma County Jail, where he had been held without bail for almost 11 months.
Cardenas, a reputed sureño gang member, was accused of murder, assault and committing crimes to benefit a street gang. The charges stemmed from a March 7 confrontation on Apple Valley Lane.
Moises Herrera Rojas, 18, was beaten to death and a second man, Augustine Martin Perez, 19, was assaulted.
Cardenas could have been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison if he'd been convicted.
He was arrested three days after the attack. At the time, police said only that they had developed information linking him to the beating.
At a preliminary hearing last year, detectives said a witness had identified Cardenas as the killer. None of the witnesses identified him in court but one confirmed that she identified him in a photo lineup.
But at the trial, the only witness who identified him as the killer was a 15-year-old boy who had initially told the police that he didn't recognize the assailant.
Jurors deliberated for three days. After they returned their verdict Thursday, defense attorney Joe Stogner said he thought conflicts in the testimony may have been a key factor in the acquittal.
Police said the attack happened when Rojas, Perez and other norteño gang members drove into the northwest Santa Rosa neighborhood, which is considered sureño turf.
According to neighbors who testified at the trial, a fight broke between the rival gang members. They said Perez confronted a man who was armed with a baseball bat. The man struck him with the bat and knocked him to the ground.
They said Perez's friends then dragged him back to their car.
A short while later, Rojas approached the man with the bat, neighbors testified. Rojas pulled a gun, they said, but the other man struck him with the bat and continued beating him after he fell to the ground.
Rojas died from a series of blows to the head, according to an autopsy.
Perez testified that he was too drunk to remember what happened that night, and most of the neighbors who witnessed the fight said they didn't recognize the man with the bat.
The exception was the teenager who testified that he was with Cardenas and saw the defendant hit Rojas with the bat.
The next day, three people in the neighborhood were injured in shootings that police called possible acts of retaliation.
Police testified that Cardenas is an active sureño gang member who has had numerous contacts with law enforcement.
In an interview with Santa Rosa police, Cardenas said he wasn't at the scene. Cardenas didn't testify at the trial.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Larry Scoufos said prosecutors believed there was enough evidence to convict Cardenas.
"The jury obviously felt differently," he said.
Defense cites conflicting testimony in trial of man accused of killing gang rival with baseball bat
Friday, February 4, 2005
By STEVE HART
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
After a month-long trial, a Sonoma County jury on Thursday acquitted a 20-year-old man in the baseball bat killing of a rival gang member in Santa Rosa's troubled Apple Valley neighborhood last year.
Jose Antonio Cardenas hugged his attorney after a clerk read the verdict in Superior Court. He was scheduled to be released Thursday night from Sonoma County Jail, where he had been held without bail for almost 11 months.
Cardenas, a reputed sureño gang member, was accused of murder, assault and committing crimes to benefit a street gang. The charges stemmed from a March 7 confrontation on Apple Valley Lane.
Moises Herrera Rojas, 18, was beaten to death and a second man, Augustine Martin Perez, 19, was assaulted.
Cardenas could have been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison if he'd been convicted.
He was arrested three days after the attack. At the time, police said only that they had developed information linking him to the beating.
At a preliminary hearing last year, detectives said a witness had identified Cardenas as the killer. None of the witnesses identified him in court but one confirmed that she identified him in a photo lineup.
But at the trial, the only witness who identified him as the killer was a 15-year-old boy who had initially told the police that he didn't recognize the assailant.
Jurors deliberated for three days. After they returned their verdict Thursday, defense attorney Joe Stogner said he thought conflicts in the testimony may have been a key factor in the acquittal.
Police said the attack happened when Rojas, Perez and other norteño gang members drove into the northwest Santa Rosa neighborhood, which is considered sureño turf.
According to neighbors who testified at the trial, a fight broke between the rival gang members. They said Perez confronted a man who was armed with a baseball bat. The man struck him with the bat and knocked him to the ground.
They said Perez's friends then dragged him back to their car.
A short while later, Rojas approached the man with the bat, neighbors testified. Rojas pulled a gun, they said, but the other man struck him with the bat and continued beating him after he fell to the ground.
Rojas died from a series of blows to the head, according to an autopsy.
Perez testified that he was too drunk to remember what happened that night, and most of the neighbors who witnessed the fight said they didn't recognize the man with the bat.
The exception was the teenager who testified that he was with Cardenas and saw the defendant hit Rojas with the bat.
The next day, three people in the neighborhood were injured in shootings that police called possible acts of retaliation.
Police testified that Cardenas is an active sureño gang member who has had numerous contacts with law enforcement.
In an interview with Santa Rosa police, Cardenas said he wasn't at the scene. Cardenas didn't testify at the trial.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Larry Scoufos said prosecutors believed there was enough evidence to convict Cardenas.
"The jury obviously felt differently," he said.
