EGN NEWS DESK
A crew of six males — 5 from the Phoenix space and one other from Mexico, who prosecutors mentioned was tied to the Sinaloa Cartel — all have been accused of taking part within the sprawling homicide plot that in the end left brothers Edgar Berrelleza-Soto, 26, and Joel Mauricio Berrelleza, 35, each of Orange, and two different males dead.
Raul Gastellum Flores, 33, of Phoenix, is the one suspect to this point to face a jury. He appeared inside a Santa Ana courtroom on Tuesday, the primary day of his trial on 4 counts of homicide for what Orange County prosecutors mentioned was his half within the plot.
Wearing a blue swimsuit and black glasses, his lengthy hair pulled again in a bun, Flores sat quietly subsequent to his legal professional, listening as Deputy District Attorney Harris Siddiq sketched out what he believed to be Flores’ involvement within the killings.
Siddiq accused Flores of agreeing to assist Rosario Roman-Lopez, a former associate of the Berrelleza brothers in a cross-border drug smuggling operation, in a plot to kidnap and kill the brothers over what Roman-Lopez mentioned was their failure to pay him again for hiring a coyote.
Siddiq mentioned Roman-Lopez promised to pay Flores simply $2,000 to participate within the plan.
“He knew this was harmful,” Siddiq mentioned of Flores. “But he signed proper up.”
Flores is on trial after his 2018 arrest in Oklahoma by U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration brokers investigating a separate drug trafficking operation. While he was in custody, a detective with the Orange Police Department traveled to Oklahoma to interview him.
Siddiq mentioned that in a sequence of interviews, Flores admitted to being a part of the crew that ambushed the Berrelleza brothers and two different victims, Antonio Medina, 19, of Glendale, Arizona and Fernando Meza, 20 of Phoenix.
Berrelleza-Soto was within the drivers seat of his GMC SUV, parked in his driveway on East Oakmont Avenue on Nov. 9, 2015, with Media and Meza within the again. Siddiq mentioned Flores and two different males abruptly drove up in a automobile that blocked the GMC.
Flores and one other man, each armed with weapons, and a 3rd armed with a knife, threatened the trio within the GMC, and tried to bind their fingers with duct tape. Within minutes, all three victims could be dead: Berrelleza-Soto and Medina died after being shot of their heads, whereas Meza, injured each from gunshots and stabs from the knife, in the end died from smoke inhalation, Siddiq mentioned.
In the interview with the detectives, Flores admitted to dousing the our bodies with gasoline, then lighting them on hearth with a cigarette lighter. A video from a close-by porch digital camera captured Flores leaping out of the GMC because it caught hearth, then working to a automobile ready simply behind.
Later, Roman-Lopez and different members of the crew kidnapped Joel Berrelleza, holding him in one other automobile they have been driving towards Fontana.
Siddiq mentioned when Joel Berrelleza requested Roman-Lopez for a cigarette, Roman-Lopez informed him “no” then shot him 3 times level clean contained in the automobile. Roman-Lopez then filmed along with his mobile phone because the crew taunted Berrelleza as he died from the gunshots, video that was performed for the jury in courtroom Tuesday.
Attorneys mentioned Roman-Lopez was killed in Mexico months after the Southern California murders.
Flores has not been accused of firing a weapon in the course of the Oakmont Avenue killings. Prosecutors as an alternative leaned on his taking part in what they mentioned was a conspiracy to kidnap and kill the victims.
Cameron Talley, an legal professional for Flores, disputed whether or not Flores knew Roman-Lopez supposed to kill the Berrelleza brothers.
Talley didn’t give a gap assertion Tuesday. He mentioned Flores supposed to testify in his personal protection in the course of the trial.
Flores was one among three males arrested who have been accused of being a part of the crew. The others have been Alejandro Guerrero Ruiz of Orange and Angel De Jesus Barreras of Ontario.
Ruiz took a deal in 2020, agreeing to plead responsible to theft if prosecutors dropped the homicide expenses in opposition to him. Siddiq mentioned Ruiz was a street-level vendor for the Berrelleza brothers on the time and acted as a scout for the remainder of the crew, telling them how a lot cash the brothers had on them on the time and discussing their places.
Barreras continues to face homicide expenses within the case, however he has not confronted a jury but. His case was sealed, in response to courtroom data.
The two last suspects within the case, Alex Corral and Juan Castro, haven’t but been arrested.
