Man Guilty of Murder at July 4th Melee

A jury struggled for nearly seven days before pronouncing a Riverside man guilty of first-degree murder for shooting a stranger to death during a confrontation amid a Fourth of July melee last year in Huntington Beach.

Esteban Quiroz Jr., 22, who contended he fired the gun in self-defense, faces 30 years to life in prison when he is sentenced May 24. He had been free on bail but was taken into custody immediately after the verdict.

The Superior Court jury, which twice declared itself deadlocked before the judge ordered more deliberations, also convicted a co-defendant, Roy Casey Becerra, of being an accessory for trying to hide the gun in a car trunk during a foiled getaway.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Dan McNerney contended during the trial that Quiroz shouted epithets before running up to Christopher Albert and pulling the trigger at close range during a confrontation at 10th Street and Pacific Coast Highway.

The prosecutor said there was no justification or excuse for the killing, and no one at the intersection needed defending.

Quiroz’s lawyer maintained the 21-year-old victim, a former Lakewood High School student who had been involved with the notorious points-for-sex Spur Posse, menaced the defendant’s group by punching out a car window minutes after he was pulled from a separate fistfight.

Attorney Steve Harmon told jurors that Quiroz, who lived with his parents and worked for his father’s construction firm, fired in a panic trying to save his friends from Albert, who he contended was drunk and “out of control.”

Becerra, a 23-year-old security guard from Corona, also maintained the shooting was in self-defense and denied trying to conceal the weapon, which he owned.

Albert bled to death after the 11 p.m. shooting, which occurred during a rowdy Independence Day celebration in Huntington Beach. He and some friends were among thousands of young revelers who descended on the downtown area.

The high school athlete moved into the national spotlight three years ago when he appeared on talk shows to discuss the Spur Posse, whose members awarded themselves points for sexual conquests.

Family members of the victim and both defendants held an anxious courtroom vigil during the long deliberations.

Harmon said he was not able to talk to jurors after the verdict, and he plans to appeal the decision. During the deliberations, the jury had asked for clarifications about premeditated murder.

“Esteban was just devastated and so was his family,” Harmon said. “It was a terrible tragedy, there is no question about it. Now the tragedy has been compounded by the verdict.”

The prosecutor and relatives of the victim were unavailable for comment.