Two Girls to Be Tried as Adults in Homicide

A Juvenile Court judge Tuesday ordered three juveniles, including two believed to be the first girls prosecuted for a gang-related homicide in Orange County, to be tried as adults in Superior Court for their suspected role in a La Habra drive-by shooting.

Juvenile Court Judge Francisco P. Briseno told Gabriela Maldonado, 16, and Emilia Ceniseros, 17, both of La Habra, that he was remanding them to Superior Court because of the “gravity and seriousness” of the murder charges against them in the death of 16-year-old Leo A. Huicochea.

“Based on information that I have received, each of the juveniles is unsuitable for trial here in Juvenile Court,” Briseno said.

Huicochea was found dead in an alley near the 300 block of North Bedford Street in La Habra, shot once in the face. Police said he lived in Huntington Beach and was visiting several known gang members at the time of his death.

Maldonado’s older brother, Edward, 17, was also ordered to stand trial as an adult in Superior Court. Still at large is a fourth suspect, Cesar Ernesto Vasquez, 19, who police believe was the triggerman in the Feb. 12 death of Huicochea.

Orange County prosecutors believe the two girls are the county’s first girl gang members to be prosecuted for a homicide. On Tuesday, Briseno set a Thursday trial date and set bail of $250,000 each for the defendants, all of whom are charged with murder.

The girls were brought into the courtroom linked together with handcuffs.

La Habra Detective Cliff McPhail has said that this case is different from other drive-by shootings because of “the involvement and the degree of sophistication of the girls.”

J. Michael Hughes, a defense attorney for Gabriela Maldonado, and the attorneys representing her brother and Ceniseros did not object to their clients being tried as adults.

“I prefer that my client be tried in Superior Court, because procedurally there are more limitations in Juvenile Court,” said Hughes, adding that in Superior Court his client at least can have a trial by jury rather than a judge.

In Juvenile Court, the maximum sentence the defendants could have received would have been incarceration until the age of 25. If found guilty in Superior Court, they could each receive prison terms as long as 15 to 25 years or 25 years to life, depending on the type of murder charges that will be filed against them.