2 Found Guilty in Drive-By Shooting
After deliberating one day, a Ventura County jury convicted two Oxnard gang members this week in the drive-by shooting death of another teen and the wounding of two others in Camarillo last summer.
Jose Centeno and Heriberto Arevalo, both 19, were convicted Monday of first-degree murder in connection with the July 6, 2002, slaying of Eric Robles, 18, of Oxnard. The defendants were also convicted of two counts of attempted murder for shooting Julio Espinoza and Miguel Rocha, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Miles Weiss.
The incident began when Centeno drove with his passenger, Arevalo, through a rival gang’s neighborhood and recognized one of the victims, prosecutors said. At one point, Centeno pulled up next to the victims’ vehicle, and one of the defendants asked where those sitting inside it were from. Then Arevalo, armed with a Glock .40-caliber handgun, began shooting.
Centeno and Arevalo each face 50 years to life for their first-degree murder convictions alone, Weiss said. “In effect, it’s a life sentence,” he said. “I think the jury ... clearly felt that the case was proven beyond a reasonable doubt.”
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Sept. 15, but attorneys for Centeno and Arevalo said they would petition for a new trial.
“There was no evidence to convict these guys,” Deputy Public Defender Cynthia Ellington said. “This was a travesty.”
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