Man Convicted in 1991 Murder of Teenage Girl

An Orange County Superior Court jury found Albert Garcia Guerrero guilty of first-degree murder Tuesday in the 1991 shooting death of a 14-year-old Westminster girl.

This was Guerrero’s second trial on murder charges, after a jury last year found him guilty of assault with a deadly weapon but deadlocked 10 to 2 in favor of finding the 29-year-old guilty of murdering Lilia Vianey Guevara.

The defense and prosecution agreed that Guerrero did not fire the shot that killed Guevara but was part of the altercation that led to her death.

The shot that killed Guevara is believed to have been fired by Guerrero’s cousin, Robert Garcia, who is suspected of fleeing to Mexico to evade law enforcement.

Guerrero’s older brother, Ruben, also has been convicted of first-degree murder for his role in the killing.

The slain girl’s aunt, Sylvia Guevara of Westminster, said she had mixed emotions about the verdict. “There was justice at last,” she said, but added that she also felt “sad for the boys.”

Lilia Guevara was shot after she fled a fight that had broken out at a party in Tustin following a Tustin High School football game.

Defense attorney Thomas Goethals agreed that Guerrero, formerly of Irvine, fired two shots at the tires of Guevara’s departing Jeep.

But he maintained Tuesday that the evidence did not show Guerrero knew Garcia had another gun, which fired the fatal shot.

“Albert is very disappointed,” Goethals added. “Not for himself, but he spoke of his three young children.”

Guerrero’s wife and two brothers were in court Tuesday but declined to comment.

Guerrero faces life in prison when he is sentenced Aug. 8.