3 Facing Drive-By Shooting Retrial Plead Not Guilty
Three alleged Thousand Oaks gang members who will be retried in connection with an April drive-by shooting pleaded not guilty Monday to felony charges of conspiring to commit battery.
Entering pleas during their arraignment in Ventura County Municipal Court were Adolfo A. Alvarez, 19, Wade Caddin, 19, and Joseph Cruz, 23.
During their first trial in November, a Superior Court jury acquitted them of one count each of assault with a firearm in an April 27 drive-by shooting in which shots were fired at a Thousand Oaks house but no one was hurt.
But the jury failed to reach a verdict on conspiracy charges against them, and the district attorney’s office decided earlier this month to retry them. If found guilty, the defendants could be sentenced to up to three years in state prison.
The men, among eight suspected members of the Small Town Hoods gang, plotted the shooting to avenge the wounding of a fellow gang member, Deputy Dist. Atty. Peter Brown said.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
