Countywide : Pacoima Man Guilty in 1980 Bar Slaying

A Ventura County Superior Court jury on Monday found a Pacoima man guilty of first-degree murder in the 1980 shooting death of his girlfriend.

Francisco Donate Banuelos, 39, could face from 26 years in prison to life in prison without the possibility of parole for killing Maria Chavez, 21, of Santa Paula on Nov. 24, 1980, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Carol Nelson.

Banuelos eluded police for nine years after Chavez’ death, hiding in Los Angeles, where he ran a profitable home-contracting business, Nelson said.

“He didn’t have his name in the phone book, and his wife and his house were in his wife’s maiden name,” she said.

Sheriff’s deputies obtained an arrest warrant for Banuelos in December, 1980. But it was not used until last autumn, when a former friend saw him in Los Angeles and reported him to police. Banuelos was arrested in Los Angeles on Oct. 13, Nelson said.

Banuelos’ attorney, Joseph Lax, declined to comment after the verdict.

The jury ruled that Banuelos killed Chavez in the bathroom of El Chihuahua bar, where she worked. According to testimony, Chavez was shot four times at close range with a pistol.

Bar patron Maria Guttierez testified that she was in the bathroom when Banuelos burst through the door, grabbed her and pointed the pistol at Chavez. Guttierez testified that Banuelos told Chavez, “You’re not leaving here. . . .”

Guttierez said she broke free and heard shots as she fled the bathroom.

But the other bar patrons already had fled the bar, taking their drinks with them and leaving no eyewitnesses to Banuelos’ escape, Nelson said.

Banuelos is scheduled to be sentenced June 4 on charges of first-degree murder, use of a deadly weapon and infliction of great bodily injury.