Gang Members Found Guilty in 1998 Murder

Four North County men were found guilty Tuesday in the New Year’s Eve 1998 murder of an Anaheim woman caught in a gang shootout, even though prosecutors don’t know who actually pulled the trigger.

The unusual case relied heavily on laws that hold gang members equally responsible for crimes--even in cases when authorities cannot pinpoint who exactly committed the acts.

Judah Seelke, a 20-year-old student, was killed in a hail of bullets outside a Placentia home after gang members mistook the car she was in for that of rivals. The four suspects were later arrested in a massive 200-officer raid across northern Orange County. But despite studies of the bullet-riddled car and witness interviews, investigators were unable to determine which suspect fired the fatal shot.

So during the three-week trial, prosecutors argued that all of the men were equally responsible for the murder, saying it wasn’t necessary to know who actually fired the fatal round. Defense attorneys countered by saying that the men had acted in self-defense, believing they were about to become victims of a drive-by shooting.

The eight-woman, four-man jury deliberated less than three days before returning the verdicts. Three of the suspects--Ron Cruz, 20, Edmundo Juarez, 24, and Benito Trejo, 20--were found guilty of second-degree murder. The fourth, Johnny Trejo, 24, was convicted of first-degree murder. The jury also found all four men guilty of attempted murder for an injury suffered by another woman in the car with Seelke.

It is not clear why the jury held Johnny Trejo more culpable for the crime; jurors declined to comment as they left the courthouse. But Deputy Dist. Atty. Jeff Levy speculated that jurors may have decided that Johnny Trejo was the most aggressive of the gang members. He at one point led other gang members down the street in pursuit of the car, according to Levy.

Seelke’s family and friends expressed satisfaction with the jury’s decision. Rachel Seelke, Judah’s sister, said the verdicts were a relief for family members, who had hoped someone would be held accountable for the shooting.

“Just because there was only one bullet, they all contributed to her murder,” she said. “It was all for one, one for all.”

On the night of the incident, Judah Seelke had been driving with a friend in search of a party to which they had been invited. After the women passed the party house a few times, apparently lost, authorities said, gang members mistakenly assumed they were from a rival gang and opened fire.

Authorities estimate that about 40 shots rang out, with 10 of the bullets piercing the women’s Honda Civic. Seelke died of a gunshot wound to the head. Her passenger was grazed by one of the bullets and slightly injured.

During the trial, several eyewitnesses placed the defendants at the scene, and the jury found them all guilty of firing at the car.

Laws provide authorities with wide leeway to prosecute suspects in gang-related shootings, especially if they can prove the suspects were acting as part of a larger group. USC law professor Michael Brennan said that drive-by shootings are typical examples.

“Prosecutors tend to want to identify a shooter or probable shooter, but they don’t have to,” Brennan said. “Sometimes no one is ever able to definitely establish who the shooter was, but everyone in the [suspects’] car can end up getting convicted of the same thing.”

Cases in which numerous gang members are convicted of the same crime are not uncommon. But the Seelke case stands apart because a primary suspect was never identified. Prosecutors charged the defendants under aiding and abetting laws that hold suspects responsible for the criminal actions of a group.

“Even though we couldn’t name the person who fired the fatal round, we know that whoever it was, he was part of that gang,” said Levy.

Because the jury found the defendants guilty of acting as a criminal street gang, the men could face “gang enhancement” penalties when they are sentenced in March.

They could serve 35 years to life in prison.