Countywide : 2 Men Convicted in Carjacking

Two men were convicted Wednesday of robbing a Ventura man and stealing his car after he agreed to give them a ride.

Terry Wilson, 33, of Simi Valley and Brade Molina, 22, of Gilroy are scheduled for sentencing Feb. 26 before Superior Court Judge Lawrence Storch. Wilson faces a presumptive prison sentence because he has a prior robbery conviction, but Molina is eligible for probation, Deputy Dist. Atty. Patricia M. Murphy said.

Wilson and Molina were charged with robbing John West, 26, in November after flagging him down for a ride, Murphy said. While West testified that Wilson, sitting in the back seat, put his arm around West’s neck and held a screwdriver to his throat, jurors acquitted Wilson of using a deadly weapon to commit the crime.

Murphy said Molina took three rings from West while Wilson ripped off a necklace. The robbers then forced West out of the car and sped off, the prosecutor said.

Defense attorneys had argued that Wilson and Molina were guilty of theft, not robbery, because no force was used. Wilson testified during the trial that West gave them his jewelry to use to purchase cocaine.

Wilson admitted that he and Molina did not intend to return the jewelry or the car, but he denied using force to obtain them. Molina did not testify.

Deputy Public Defender Todd W. Howeth, who represents Wilson, said he was “puzzled” by the verdict because it seemed to indicate that jurors believed the jewelry was taken by some type of force, but not involving a screwdriver.

Murphy said Wilson’s acquittal of using a screwdriver could mean jurors did not consider it a deadly weapon or did not believe it was used in the crime.

Jurors were not available for comment after the verdict.