Teacher Found Guilty in 1994 Gang Slaying

Twice, juries could not agree on murder charges against North Hollywood schoolteacher Denneth Jackson in the fatal gang beating of a neighbor.

On Monday, a third jury reached a unanimous verdict after four days of deliberation, finding Jackson guilty of the 1994 slaying of Julio Aguilar and the beating of the victim’s brother, Jose Aguilar.

“It ain’t like it’s over,” Jackson, 29, told his parents and siblings, who have sat through three trials, after the verdict. “When you’re right, there’s no stopping.”

He hugged them and handed them his belt, tie and jewelry before being taken into custody by the bailiff. Jackson had been released on bail at the end of his second trial, but Superior Court Judge Judith Ashmann ordered him jailed pending sentencing next month.

He faces a maximum of 20 years to life in prison.

“I’m always satisfied when there’s a just verdict, but I wouldn’t say I’m happy, because the underlying tragedy is that Mr. Jackson chose to murder someone,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Steven J. Ipsen said. “There’s nothing but pain and tragedy here for both families.”

He said he did not know what made the difference in this trial, which he tried for the first time.

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The jurors rushed off after the verdict was read, declining to talk to lawyers, the judge or the media about the case. One female juror said only that the eyewitness testimony was the strongest evidence of guilt, then stepped into an elevator, unwilling to comment further.

Julio Aguilar was killed in the early morning hours of Nov. 12, 1994, during a second run-in with Reseda Westside gang members.

Jackson was having a party at his apartment on Amigo Street in Reseda, Ipsen said. During the night, an intoxicated Aguilar drove his car into a parked van belonging to one of the party-goers.

The police were called and Aguilar was arrested.

Hours later, at about 2:30 a.m., Aguilar returned with his brother and uncle to the apartment complex to inspect the damage to the van.

Ipsen said Jackson led a mob to the car and pulled Jose Aguilar out through the driver’s side window and beat him. The gang stomped, kicked, punched and beat Aguilar with a 4-by-4 piece of lumber.

Jackson’s landlords testified during the trial that they saw the attack through their window and watched Jackson beat Julio Aguilar, who died during the attack. One witness described hearing the wooden plank crack as it was smashed against his head.

Seven people were arrested for the beatings. All but Jackson pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and received 11-year prison sentences.

In Jackson’s first trial, a single holdout juror forced a mistrial. An Alhambra jury later deadlocked 7 to 5 in favor of acquittal.

Jackson’s defense remained the same in all three trials, that he acted in self-defense.

Jackson took the stand three times and told jurors that Jose Aguilar had a gun and he pulled him out of the car to get him away from the weapon. Once he did, the mob took over and he was unable to control them, Jackson testified.

He also denied being a gang member, saying he had tried to steer youth away from gangs and into productive lives.

“Mr. Jackson only had one life and it was the life of a teacher, of a son, of a caring member of the community,” his defense lawyer, Michael V. White, told the jury. White called several teachers from Madison Middle School to vouch for Jackson’s character. Jackson taught social studies at the school for two months before his arrest, authorities said.

“What he was was a lifelong, dedicated Reseda gang member, complete with tattoos,” Ipsen said. “That the night of the beating he had a party attended solely by Reseda Westside gang members, terrifying his neighbors, says it all.”

Ipsen said none of the gang members detained that night mentioned a gun to authorities. He said that was a fabricated defense Jackson used at his first trial.

Los Angeles Police Det. Joel Price, the lead investigator, said new evidence of past gang involvement by the defendant and added testimony of another of Jackson’s landlords, who had previously not wanted to get involved, possibly tipped the scales this time around.

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Because the case was essentially the same, he said he still worried it would produce the same result: another hung jury.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that he was, if not the mastermind, he was certainly one of the people involved,” Price said. “But even with all I know, it still kind of shocked me a little that we finally convinced 12 other people.”

After the trial, Maxine Jackson criticized prosecutors for “twisting the evidence” against her son. She said she thinks the testimony of the eyewitnesses was tainted by emotion and fear and said that she trusts in God to make things right.

“I know that Denneth is innocent,” she said as she left the courtroom. “We have a lot of people praying for him.”