Third Man Found Guilty in Murder of Theater Guard

A third man was convicted of first-degree murder Thursday in the fatal shooting of a movie theater security guard in Orange last year.

Jesse Pena, a passenger in the getaway car carrying the shooter, faces a sentence of up to 25 years to life in prison for the Feb. 19, 1994, killing of Dagoberto R. Carrero.

The 23-year-old victim was working his last shift as a security guard at the Century City Centre Theater when he was shot twice in the face and back. A former Marine, Carrero had made plans to travel to Texas the next day for Air National Guard training.

Jerry Lee Alonzo Jr. was convicted in June and sentenced to life in prison without parole.

A second man, Rafael A. Maldonado, also was convicted of first-degree murder in November for driving the getaway car. Pena, 19 at the time, was a passenger in the car, authorities said. Prosecutors said Alonzo had watched a movie earlier that night and returned to the theater with a gun to kill the guard, angry over a previous encounter. Authorities said Alonzo summoned his friends for a ride home after the shooting by paging them using the code “187,” which is also the number of the section in the state’s Penal Code dealing with homicide.