Grand Jury Indicts 2 in First Use of Tougher State Gang Law

Using a new state law that makes gang members who kill eligible for the death penalty, the Ventura County Grand Jury indicted a Van Nuys man Monday on murder charges--with the special circumstance that he was active in a criminal street gang when he fatally shot a Newbury Park teenager.

The finding makes Jesus Miranda, 21, eligible for the death penalty in the April 28 slaying of Edgar Cruz outside the Conejo Creek condominiums in Newbury Park.

The grand jury also charged Carlos Alberto Molina Escobar, 24, as an accomplice after the fact and carrying a concealed firearm in a car while a member of a criminal street gang. Authorities said a .357-caliber handgun was found in Escobar’s car, the same type of handgun used in the shooting.

Both men pleaded not guilty Monday to the charges.

The slaying alarmed Newbury Park residents, many of whom feared it would spark a war between local and Los Angeles gang members at the 540-unit Conejo Creek complex. Investigators, however, said the victims were not gang members.

Authorities arrested seven alleged Salvadoran gang members from Van Nuys--including Miranda and Escobar--in the slaying of Cruz, 19, who died after being shot twice in the abdomen. His friend, Andres Morales, 18, was seriously wounded.

Prosecutors released three of the suspects on May 10 before any charges had been filed. Escobar and two others remained in custody on immigration holds. Miranda was charged with attempted murder in connection with Morales’ injuries.

Ventura County Sheriff’s Cmdr. Keith Parks, who oversees the east county for the department, called the indictments a validation of his department and their efforts.

“We got the right people,” Parks said. “It’s difficult to reassure the community when people are being released. But we put a lot of resources into this. We just can’t tolerate this kind of stuff. When we have a group of gang members in from Los Angeles, we won’t just stand by.”

Sheriff’s investigators said the shooting followed a dispute between a Central American resident, who had recently moved into the complex, and his Mexican immigrant neighbors. Authorities said the Central American resident had ties to the Van Nuys gang, which has roots in El Salvador.

Two days after Cruz was slain, shots were fired at a nearby Mexican restaurant, where friends of the two shooting victims had gathered en route to a memorial service. No one was hurt.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Bill Hainey declined to say if additional arrests are expected, adding only that the investigation is “active and ongoing.”

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The district attorney’s office will decide whether to seek the death penalty for Morales. If they do, it will be the first time the county will seek a death sentence using the new gang enhancements approved under Proposition 21 last March.

In addition to allowing the death penalty for gang-related slayings, the law allows stiffer penalties for other gang-related crimes, including life sentences for drive-by shootings, carjackings, home-invasion robberies and witness intimidation. It also allows prosecutors to try juveniles as young as 14 as adults.

The proposition, which was criticized as too harsh, received 62% of the vote.

Authorities insist the proposition is an important tool in fighting the wave of gang crimes that consistently flood the courts.

“When [these enhancements] are used in a case like this, it will send a definite message to the gangs that law enforcement and the community is getting serious,” said FBI Special Agent Richard Kelly. “Tolerance for that kind of crime is reaching an all-time low.”

Kelly, who oversees Oxnard’s Violent Crime Task Force, said he doubts gang members are aware of the new penalties. But word of Miranda’s indictment will spread, he said.

“Most gang members aren’t sitting down with the L.A. Times reading about local laws, checking up on what the state and federal government is doing,” Kelly said. “But when you have one of their homeboys on trial in a potential death penalty case, that’s going to be a big, big eye-opener. . . . I think we’ll see some definite benefit from it.”

Hainey, who is prosecuting the case against Miranda and Escobar, said the enhancements are needed to help keep violent gang members off the street.

“I embrace Proposition 21,” Hainey said. “I’m very grateful for the additional tool to prosecute gang members.”

Miranda, who was charged with murder, attempted murder, shooting at an inhabited dwelling, assault with a firearm and carrying a loaded firearm while a member of a street gang, is being held without bail.

Escobar is being held in lieu of $60,000 bail. A trial date for both men was set for Oct. 17.