Opening statements expected in Indio gang shooting trial
Opening statements were scheduled Monday in the trial of a Palm Desert resident accused in the 2014 gang-related shooting death of a 20-year-old man in Indio. Shawn Anthony Wynn, 24, faces life without the possibility of parole if convicted of the June 16, 2014 slaying of Juan Carlos Hernandez.
Wynn is charged with murder, criminal street gang activity and being a felon in possession of a firearm. He also faces a special circumstance allegation of being an active gang member during the killing, but prosecutors in 2015 decided against pursuing capital punishment.
Two other men, Edgar Machado, 23, and Rick Steve Jaime, 25, and a teenager — all from Indio — were also arrested in connection with the shooting, which occurred around 10:30 p.m. near Lancer Gate and Merlin Drive in Indio’s Regency Park neighborhood.
Indio police received multiple 911 calls of gunshots fired in the area. Hernandez was found dead inside a parked Cadillac. Machado was the first suspect to be arrested, though not for the shooting. Indio police picked him up 10 days after the shooting for a probation violation before arresting him in connection with Hernandez’s death.
Wynn was taken into custody on July 1, 2014, while Jaime and the teenager, then 16, were taken into custody the following day.
Machado pleaded guilty in February 2016 to voluntary manslaughter, as well as gang and firearm allegations. He was sentenced to 39 years in state prison.
Jaime pleaded guilty in 2014 to being an accessory and criminal street gang activity and was handed a two-year prison sentence in fall 2014. Due to the teen’s age at the time of the shooting, court records regarding his arrest and any criminal charges are sealed.
