Guilty Plea Entered in Death of Teen

An Oxnard man pleaded guilty Thursday to voluntary manslaughter charges in the death of a rival gang member.

Anthony Frank Vasquez, 19, changed his not guilty plea after prosecutors decided to reduce charges from murder to manslaughter in the death of Dino Zarate. Vasquez also pleaded guilty to a charge of using a firearm.

Deputy Public Defender Randy Tucker said his client was tempted to go to the jury with a self-defense argument, but worried about how jurors would react to his gang affiliation and the fact that he used a gun.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard Simon decided to reduce the charges because of the defendant’s belief he had acted in self-defense. Simon said he believed the outcome was “a fair result, given the facts of the case.”

Zarate, a 19-year-old college sophomore, was shot in the head Sept. 1 while driving a carload of friends through south Oxnard. According to witnesses, Zarate’s friends, members of a Colonia gang, shouted their gang’s name and got out of the car wielding sticks. Vasquez, who is a member of a rival south Oxnard gang, then pulled out a gun and shot Zarate.

Vasquez is scheduled to be sentenced March 28.