SANTA PAULA : Sentencing Delayed in Murder Case

Sentencing of a Santa Paula man convicted of murdering his cousin was postponed Friday so the judge can decide if the defendant should get a new trial now that his brother has been arrested for the same crime.

The attorney for Jesus M. Tellez, 21, argued in court documents that his client cannot be guilty of first-degree murder unless Arturo M. Tellez is, since Arturo wielded the weapon in the June, 1991, shooting at Teague Park in Santa Paula.

Arturo Tellez, 24, had been sought since the shooting. He was arrested in Colorado in January, one day after Jesus was convicted of the first-degree murder of Javier Tellez Garcia, 27, and attempted first-degree murder of another cousin, Jose Tellez Vasquez, 32.

Authorities said the shootings, part of a long-running feud between branches of the Tellez family, occurred on a Sunday afternoon when the park was crowded with dozens of picnickers and children. The Tellez brothers disappeared after the shootings. Jesus was arrested in Texas in June.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Carol J. Nelson presented evidence during Jesus Tellez’s trial to show that he helped Arturo track down the victims at the park and then helped him escape afterward.

Nelson said that to convict Jesus, she had to prove that Arturo meant to kill the victims and that Jesus was aware of his brother’s intentions.

But Deputy Public Defender Robert K. Willey said in court documents that he wants Jesus to get a new trial to present “direct evidence” of Arturo’s state of mind during the shootings.

Arturo is scheduled for trial April 26 on the murder and attempted murder charges. Superior Court Judge Allan L. Steele agreed to postpone sentencing for Jesus until March 26 to consider the request for a new trial.

Both brothers are in custody at the Ventura County Jail.