Closing Arguments Paint Najera As ‘Big Man On Street’

INDIO -A gang member robbed and fatally shot a Cathedral City man for no other reason than to be “the big man on the street,” a prosecutor today told a jury that will decide if the defendant lives or is sentenced to die.

The defendant’s attorney asked the panel to put aside their anger and spare the life of Miguel Najera, 28, who could be sentenced to death or life in prison for shooting 40-year-old Adrian Cedeno at a home on C Street on May 28, 2006.

A 10-woman, two-man jury convicted Najera of first-degree murder and robbery on Dec. 2, along with a special circumstance allegation that he was an active gang member.

The panel deadlocked on a special circumstance allegation that the murder was committed during a robbery, prompting Riverside County Superior Court Judge James Hawkins to declare a mistrial on that allegation.

Deputy District Attorney Victoria Weiss asked jurors today during closing arguments to consider the death penalty for Najera.

“He could have let Adrian go. He chose not to. He could have chose to let Adrian live. He chose not to. He showed no compassion and no mercy,” Weiss said.

She said that Najera went to the middle of gang territory when he held Cedeno at gunpoint in the driveway.

She said Najera slapped Cedeno across the face, but the victim did not react and emptied his pockets of his wallet at Najera’s request. Once Cedeno was done handing over his property, Najera shot him, according to the prosecutor.

The prosecutor urged jurors to consider Najera’s criminal history as evidence that he refused to change his ways while in prison.

“This is a man who has no regard for human life,” she said.

Najera was convicted in 2000 of burglary and in 2002 and 2004 of possession of a controlled substance. Najera’s attorney, John Aquilina, asked jurors to put aside their anger and to follow the law.

“The law tells you to set aside your anger to determine the appropriate punishment,” Aquilina said. The attorney said his client fled from an abusive home in his teens and took refuge in the streets, where he became involved in drugs.

He pointed to testimony from the defendant’s family members that Najera had a tough upbringing, but had some good in him.

“We presented his life story to you,” Aquilina said. “I’m telling you who he is.”