Deliberations Begin In Gang Shooting Case

INDIO -Jurors are expected today to begin their first full day of deliberations in the trial of a documented gangster and a teen accused in the death of a fellow gang member who was killed by California Highway Patrol officers during a pursuit in Desert Hot Springs.

Anthony Paez, 20, and Edgar Flores, 17, are charged with murder, attempted murder and shooting at an inhabited motor vehicle in the May 30, 2008, death of Alexis Melendrez-Acosta.

Paez and Flores face the murder count because shooting at police officers is considered a “provocative act,” meaning there’s high probability that it will result in death, Deputy District Attorney Anthony Orlando told jurors in his closing argument.

“When you shoot at officers, is it not foreseeable, it is not likely, that they would shoot back?” the prosecutor said.

Paez, who could be sentenced to 87 years to life in prison if convicted, also faces separate charges for allegedly shooting at CHP officers a week before the death of Melendrez-Acosta.

Flores faces 39 years to life if found guilty in the second shooting.

The teen, who is also accused of being a gang associate, was prosecuted as an adult.

The prosecution alleges that Flores was behind the wheel of a stolen Honda and ignored CHP officers’ orders to pull over at Cactus Drive and Desert View Avenue on May 30, 2008.

Orlando noted the testimony of CHP officers that the right rear passenger — identified as Paez — leaned out the window and fired two shots, and the officers returned fire.

The front windows of the Honda were rolled up, while the back windows were down, he said.

“It is reasonable, based on the circumstantial evidence, that it was the rear right passenger shooting at the officers. (Paez) could fit through that window,” Orlando said.

A .38-caliber revolver, a holster and shell casings were found in the back seat, Orlando said. He also said Paez’s DNA and his shoe were discovered in the rear of the car.

Other patrol units responded as Flores led officers on a chase through Desert Hot Springs, Orlando said.

The officers returned fire and struck Melendrez-Acosta in the head — he died later at a hospital. Paez was hit five times.

The pursuit covered more than 11 miles, with speeds ranging from 70 to 90 mph, according to Orlando.

Flores eventually crashed the Honda and fled with Paez to a home in the 16000 block of Via El Rancho. The pair surrendered after tear gas was lobbed into the house, according to Orlando.

Paez’s attorney, Mark Sullivan, argued the front passenger — Melendrez-Acosta — was likely the shooter, not Paez.

Sullivan directed jurors to look closely at the testimony of two officers, Charles Smith and John Quinterro. He said the officers admitted under cross-examination that they initially believed the front passenger was the shooter.

He pointed to testimony from Quinterro who said that he “shot at the one and only passenger on the right side of the car.”

Flores’ attorney, Demitra Tolbert, has said Flores does not deny driving the Honda, but denies he held or fired a gun. She said a .38-caliber revolver found in the back seat of the Honda was small enough to be hidden from her client’s view.