Man Acquitted in Shooting Death : Courts: Jury accepts argument that Sergio Celis was mistaken for the real killer, whom the defense asserted was Celis’ older brother.

A young Glassell Park man was acquitted in the murder of his next-door neighbor after his defense attorney argued that the killer was the defendant’s older brother.

Sergio Celis, 18, was released from custody Monday shortly after a Pomona Superior Court jury found him not guilty in the death of Eustaquio Medrano, a 49-year-old cemetery groundskeeper who was shot outside his home on July 31, 1991.

The jury believed the defense’s assertion that Celis had been mistaken for the true assailant, Deputy Dist. Atty. Diana Summerhayes said.

The defense had argued that Sergio could have been confused with his brother Vicente, 27, who is currently in Los Angeles County Jail on a drunk-driving conviction.

After the verdict, the prosecutor said, jurors told her that they discounted eyewitness testimony by Medrano’s wife, Nori, who observed her husband’s shooting from a side window in the family home. Because of the hour--4:45 a.m.--and the fact that a nearby street light cast her husband’s assailants in silhouette, the panel members felt enough doubt existed to set Celis free, she said.

Summerhayes said the right person was brought to trial. “There was insufficient evidence to place Vicente at the scene,” she said.

After the verdict, the Celis family was grim and offered no thanks for her work in representing the defendant, Deputy Public Defender Zona Steffen said.

“I believe they are waiting for the other shoe to drop--on Vicente,” she said.

The defense lawyer added that she and her investigator, Richard Arellano, discovered that Vicente Celis was not in Visalia the night of the murder, as he had claimed. A Celis family member testified that he was at the family home at least a few hours before the shooting.

Vicente took the stand during the trial but refused to testify, citing his 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination.

“I feel if the LAPD were to follow up on our leads, they could gather even more incriminating information,” the deputy public defender said. “I think Mrs. Medrano is entitled to see the man who killed her husband punished.”

Celis family members could not be reached for comment.

Steffen and Summerhayes agreed that Medrano’s killing was a senseless crime that lacked a sufficient motive and puzzled them.

A groundskeeper at Forest Lawn Memorial-Park, Glendale, Medrano typically rose early for work. On the morning of his death, Medrano was summoned toward the front yard of the adjacent home by as many as five Celis family members, who had spent the night on their porch drinking and talking, witnesses testified. The group included Sergio, at least two of Sergio’s three brothers and Alberto Celis. Whether Vicente was present is in dispute.

According to witnesses, the Celises asked Medrano if he knew of any jobs that might be available. Medrano told them to apply at the cemetery. Then, angry words were exchanged and at least one shot was fired. A bullet from a 9-mm semiautomatic handgun pierced Medrano’s chest, killing him. The murder weapon was never recovered.

Medrano’s family wept in court after the verdict. Nori Medrano, who has since moved out of Los Angeles County because she reportedly fears the Celis family, expressed anger.

“The only innocent person is my husband, who is in the grave,” she said.