3 men sentenced to 13 years in Los Banos-area 2014 gang slaying

Three men have been sentenced to serve 13 years in prison in connection with their roles in the 2014 slaying of a 21-year-old Los Banos man.

The victim, Olen Bates, was shot and killed on Jan. 31, 2014. His body was found at the Fox Hills Golf Course on South Volta Road. Prosecutors said Bates belonged to the same street gang as the three defendants: Stephen R. Rowell, 22; Ricardo N. Poveda, 23; and Michael J. Lopez, 26.

The defendants were arrested in June 2014. Merced County Sheriff’s investigators said the gang had been operating in the Los Banos area “undetected” for some time before the slaying. Sheriff’s deputies led the investigation with the assistance of the Merced County Gang Task Force, Merced County Sheriff’s Department Supervised Release Team and Los Banos Police Department.

Nicole Silveira, the Merced County supervising deputy district attorney who prosecuted the case, said the defendants believed Bates “wasn’t following the rules of the gang” and went to confront him. Exactly what occurred during that encounter remains unclear, but it ended when Bates was shot multiple times.

Silveira said prosecutors agreed to settle the case without going to trial due to the “availability of witnesses with direct knowledge” and the fact the defendants were willing to “take responsibility” for Bates’ death.

All three men pleaded no contest on April 4 to voluntary manslaughter and admitted gang ties, Silveira said Wednesday.

This story was originally published April 12, 2017 at 4:18 PM with the headline "3 men sentenced to 13 years in Los Banos-area 2014 gang slaying."