2 Men Convicted in 1993 Double Murder

Two men were convicted Thursday of the execution-style killings of two people inside a Huntington Beach mobile home.

Travis S. Fredericksen, 27, and Richard D. Fleck, 33, potentially face life in prison without the possibility of parole when they are sentenced March 6.

Michelle Acuna Lawson, a 32-year-old Huntington Beach mother of two, was visiting a friend at the mobile home where 20-year-old Joshua Wells also lived. The two were shot several times by several gunmen in the December 1993 incident.

“The thing that makes these murders so bad is the fact that it was a deliberate, planned execution,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Dan McNerney, who prosecuted the case. “What made it worse was that they killed the wrong people. They killed two people completely innocent, completely uninvolved. They happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

A third defendant, Salvatore Islas, pleaded guilty last week to two counts of voluntary manslaughter and faces a maximum sentence of more than 19 years in prison. The plea agreement was reached after a key witness refused to testify against Islas.

McNerney said physical evidence at the scene suggests that there was probably a fourth suspect involved in the shootings but that person has never been found.

The defense argued during the trial that Fleck had been robbed at gunpoint of a cellular telephone, a gun and money by the brother of someone who lived in the mobile home. The defendants had gone there to recover the belongings and maintained that shots were fired in self-defense.

Fredericksen’s attorney, Julian Bailey, expressed disappointment in the verdicts and said he will appeal.

Fredericksen’s mother, Gail Castellon sobbed as the verdict was read.

“It’s not fair. It’s just so unfair,” she wailed.

Fleck’s parents sat grim-faced and also vowed to appeal.

“Our son never shot anybody,” said Marlene Fleck.

But the reactions of the families of the victims, sitting on the opposite side of the courtroom, were dramatically different.

“It really gave me a lot of satisfaction knowing justice was done,” said Teri Thompson, Wells’ aunt. “It has been agonizing waiting four years, and we thought it was going to be forgotten.”

Wells’ grandmother, Patricia Brown, said the evidence in the case was “overwhelming” and she feels great relief that the defendants will be in prison for life. Still, she also felt empathy for their families.

“I wouldn’t want to be in their place,” she said.

Carl Lawson, the husband of Michelle Acuna Lawson, said the verdict means “we’re finally going to have some closure.”

But, he lamented their children will never know their mother. Their daughter was 8 months old and son 2 years old when she was killed.

The jury deliberated for three days. Members of the panel said despite some initial difficulties in reaching a consensus, they had no doubts in the end.

“Once we read the instructions, it was clear,” said one woman, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Times staff writer Janet Wilson also contributed to this story.