2nd Gang Member Guilty in Slaying

A 19-year-old Oxnard man was convicted of second-degree murder Thursday in a 2001 gang attack.

Julio Cesar Chavez was found guilty of participating in the slaying of Bryan Davalos, 20, of El Rio on April 9, 2001.

Chavez was one of four Oxnard gang members who confronted Davalos in an alley in Oxnard, beat him and stabbed him, said John Bunch, an investigator for the district attorney’s office.

Chavez beat Davalos with an iron pipe, then fled to a nearby residence.

He was connected to the crime through witnesses and DNA evidence, Bunch said.

Although Davalos was not in a gang, authorities believe that he was targeted because he told the gang members who attacked him that he was from El Rio.

After three days of deliberations, jurors Thursday also convicted Chavez of assault with a deadly weapon and being an active participant in a criminal street gang.

One of the other gang members, Luis Venegas, pleaded guilty last year to second-degree murder and is serving a prison sentence of 15 years to life. The others are still being sought.

Chavez, who faces 25 years to life in prison, will be sentenced Oct. 14.