Merced trial underway in 2012 gang-related triple homicide, attorneys say
The trial of a Merced man charged with three counts of murder connected to two gang-related incidents in 2012 was underway this week, and is expected to continue through next week as several witnesses testify, according to the Merced County District Attorney’s Office.
Pete Valenzuela Jr., 32, has pleaded not guilty to shooting and killing 21-year-olds Luis Humberto Morales and Benjamin Samuel Mariano on Dec. 1, 2012, outside of an apartment complex in the 400 block of West 23rd St.
Charges against a former co-defendant in the double-slaying, Patrick Ryan Cervantes, were dismissed by Merced County Judge Ronald Hansen on June 16, 2015, according to Merced County Superior Court records.
Valenzuela also pleaded not guilty to killing Antonio David Jacobo on Oct. 10, 2012, in the 1300 block of West Sixth Street, according to Merced County Superior Court records.
Police said Morales and Mariano were at the same party as the defendant on the night of the murders. The defendant had dropped out of a gang and joined one that rivaled the victims, police said.
Prosecutors had previously said they believe Valenzuela killed Jacobo in a dispute that was possibly marijuana-related or a personal issue involving one of Valenzuela’s relatives and Jacobo.
The two incidents were merged into one case after ballistic evidence tied the same 9 mm handgun to all three deaths, prosecutors said.
Matching shell casings allegedly from the same handgun were found at the scene of an assault on Dec. 23, 2012, from which Valenzuela also faces an attempted murder charge.
The reported target of that assault testified in court Tuesday, saying he was pistol-whipped and then held in a chokehold by Cervantes while Valenzuela pointed a gun at him and pulled the trigger.
But the gun didn’t fire, the witness said. And while Valenzuela seemed to be reloading the gun, the witness reportedly broke out of the chokehold and ran, he said.
Two shots reportedly were fired from the gun as Valenzuela and Cervantes unsuccessfully pursued the witness, according to police. The shell casings were analyzed and came back matching to the casings in the previous homicides, leading to Valenzuela’s and Cervantes’ arrests for murder.