Man to stand trial for allegedly shooting rival gang member in Burbank
A25-year-old gang member will stand trial on charges that he shot a rival gang member during an attack outside the Burbank Town Center early one morning in April, a judge ruled on Friday.
After his preliminary hearing, Albert Vasquez was held to answer to one count each of assault with a firearm, attempting to make criminal threats and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
At around 1:30 a.m. on April 4, two 22-year-old men were leaving the movie theater with their girlfriends when they were allegedly confronted by a handful of men, including Vasquez.
“Where are you from?” someone in the group asked, according to court testimony. It’s a question asked to identify someone’s gang ties and could indicate impending violence, a gang expert testified. During the hearing, seven Burbank police officers, along with a Los Angeles police sergeant, gave testimony.
One man leaving the theater was thrown to the ground, kicked and beaten, while Vasquez — a known Temple Street gang member — reportedly confronted the other man, a rival gang member identified as Jose Leon.
“I could smoke you right now,” Vasquez allegedly said during the confrontation.
He kept his hand in the pocket of his hooded sweatshirt, which led witnesses to believe he was carrying a gun.
Shortly after, one witness heard someone shout “Temple Street,” followed by a pop, and Leon, a member of the street gang Osiri Boys, was on the ground. Leon had reportedly pulled out a knife to defend himself, but was shot in an upper thigh before he could use it.
Leon later told police that the attack was “probably” motivated by his visible gang tattoos, according to testimony.
Both gangs reportedly operate out of the Rampart area of Los Angeles.
After the shooting, Vasquez and the rest of his group fled down San Fernando Boulevard.
Leon flagged down a nearby officer as blood soaked through his clothes.
His friend, meanwhile, had been beaten so severely that he looked like a “conehead,” one detective testified. Police don’t believe the beating victim belongs to a gang.
Both victims were hospitalized while officers set up a perimeter to search for the suspects.
Vasquez was spotted fleeing the area, and when officers tried to stop him, he led them on a “dangerous” foot chase across the Golden State (5) Freeway, prosecutor Elaine Ramsey said.
Officers caught up with him as he was crawling through a small hole in a chain-link fence near the freeway.
There, he gave up, complying with officers’ orders to lie face down.
After he was detained, officers took into evidence his sweatshirt, which had a bullet hole in the front pocket. A loaded handgun was recovered in a nearby drain.
No other suspects in the attack have been identified.
Vasquez, who is being held in lieu of $1.18-million bail, is due back in court later this month.
The charges against him carry a special allegation that the crimes were committed for the benefit of a criminal street gang, which could add years to his sentence if convicted. Vasquez’s attorney Miguel Rosales denies that the shooting was gang-related.
“It might have been a fight gone awry,” he said after the hearing.
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Alene Tchekmedyian, alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com
Twitter: @atchek
