17-Year-Old Faces Trial as Adult on Murder Charge

A 17-year-old boy must stand trial for murder in the shooting death of a father of four in Cabrillo Village, a judge ruled Wednesday.

The ruling marked the second setback in court in as many months for the accused youth, Jose Villareal of Ventura.

In March, a judge found Villareal unfit to remain in juvenile court and ordered him tried as an adult in the murder of Jose Guadalupe Gutierrez, who was killed Oct. 1.

On Wednesday, Municipal Court Judge John E. Dobroth ruled that sufficient evidence existed to order Villareal to trial for murder, shooting at an occupied vehicle and using a firearm.

Gutierrez was shot as he stood outside a car talking to a friend. The friend, Raciel Nolasco, testified Wednesday that he ducked inside his vehicle after hearing four shots.

When the shooting stopped, he found Gutierrez slumped over, Nolasco testified. Gutierrez had just finished leading an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting before his death.

Villareal’s teen-age cousin and an adult were also charged in the case. Prosecutors said all three defendants were shooting in Gutierrez’s direction the day of the murder.

The cousin, 17-year-old Merle Lopez, also has been ordered to face prosecution as an adult. Lopez fired the fatal blast that pierced Gutierrez’s heart, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Roger Inman.

Rudolfo Leo Martinez, 21, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 18 years to life in prison.