2 Gang Members Face 2nd Trial in Shooting of Teacher

A Compton Superior Court judge on Tuesday ordered two gang members to face a second trial in the accidental shooting of a South-Central Los Angeles teacher.

Judge John Cheroske approved the request of prosecutors for a new trial after a jury deadlocked in an initial trial last month. The first trial was marked by suggestions of witness intimidation.

Cheroske set a Nov. 27 trial for Antonio Moses, 19, and Frazier Francis, 19. Both are accused in the near-fatal wounding of teacher Alfredo Perez.

If convicted of attempted murder, the defendants could be sentenced to life in prison.

In the first trial, the jury deadlocked 7 to 5 in favor of acquittal. A key prosecution witness who identified Francis as the shooter in a police interview changed his testimony on the witness stand, saying he had only heard the shooting. Prosecutors suggested he feared retaliation by gang allies of Francis and Moses.

Cheroske, concerned that publicity could scare off witnesses and influence potential jurors, said that a gag order he issued during the first trial would remain in effect during the second trial.

Perez, a teacher at Figueroa Street Elementary School, was struck by a stray bullet while teaching his fifth-grade class on Feb. 22. Doctors originally did not expect him to live, but he has made a dramatic recovery and can talk clearly and walk with the aid of a cane.

Because Perez was an accidental victim, Moses and Francis were not charged with attempting to kill him, but with the attempted murder of “John Doe”--an unknown member of a rival gang. Prosecutors say Moses ordered Francis to shoot at that gang member as they drove past them.

The shots missed the driver and the car and struck the elementary school across the street. One of the bullets went through a window and wounded Perez in the head.

Cheroske also will decide on Nov. 20 if Moses, who is on probation for an earlier manslaughter conviction, is guilty of any probation violations based on evidence of the first trial. Both men have been in custody since shortly after the shooting. Moses has been held without bail, while Francis has been held in lieu of $615,000 bail.