Witness Identifies Teen As Instigator In Deadly Desert Hot Springs Stabbing

A witness testified on Monday she saw one of the seven teenage boys accused in a Desert Hot Springs gang-related killing stab the victim during a house party.

On the second day of a preliminary hearing for three of the defendants, the 15-year-old girl said she saw Omar Hernandez, 16, attack 23-year-old Jose Alvarez Villalobos in June 2010.

The witness said Hernandez began the confrontation with Villalobos before other alleged West Drive Locos gang members joined in, stabbing and beating him to death.

At the conclusion of the hearing, expected to be tomorrow, a judge will decide whether there is enough evidence to order Hernandez, along with David Larios, 18, and Steven Ray Arellano, 14, to stand trial on a murder charge and sentence-enhancing allegation of being gang members.

They are each facing a murder charge because they all allegedly wielded knives during the attack. They are being prosecuted as adults and could face life in prison if convicted, Deputy District Attorney David Anderson said.

The remaining four teens, who were not carrying knives, all pleaded guilty to felony assault and gang charges, receiving sentences ranging from five to eight years.

The female witness today said Hernandez handed his knife to Larios after stabbing Villalobos and that Arellano showed her that he had a knife in his possession earlier at the party.

The witness testified that Hernandez first “socked (Villalobos) in the face” once a verbal argument escalated. Then, she said, he stabbed him in the stomach with a 4-inch blade.

“You could see Jose’s face change,” she said. “I was in shock.”

She said that, following the attack, the group of boys ran off into the desert, throwing rocks at partygoers while fleeing.

On Monday, a friend of Villalobos testified as an eyewitness to the June 13 attack.

Hernandez was an invited guest to a birthday party for the owner of the Desert Hot Springs home, but several of his co-defendants also accompanied him to the event, Anderson said.

“Omar threw the first punch, then Villalobos pushed him away,” the prosecutor said earlier. “Omar took the knife out of his pocket and did at least one stab and then everybody else jumped in.”

None of the four who reached plea agreements are likely to testify in the current hearing or a potential trial, Anderson said.

Angel Romero received an eight-year sentence, while the other three — Bryan Gonzalez, Ruben Alexander Chavez and Samuel Manuel Vallejo all received five-year sentences.

Romero’s sentence was longer, Anderson said, because he kicked Villalobos once he was on the ground.

“He was a little more aggressive,” Anderson said earlier.