Alexis Aguilar, 19, was sentenced Thursday by Judge Timothy Roberts to consecutive 25-years-to-life sentences for the first-degree murder

Alexis Aguilar, 19, was sentenced Thursday by Judge Timothy Roberts to consecutive 25-years-to-life sentences for the first-degree murder of 29-year-old Jose Mexicano. He was given an additional six years for using a firearm during the commission of the crime for the benefit of the Norteño street gang. Aguilar was found guilty by a jury last month in the March 4, 2007, slaying of Mexicano in the notorious Acosta Plaza apartment complex. He was 17 at the time of the shooting, but was tried as an adult. It was the second time Aguilar was tried for the murder after an earlier jury deadlocked.
Prosecutor David Rabow acknowledged the length of the sentence for a teenager would attract attention, but argued that it was warranted given the heinous nature of the crime. According to testimony, Mexicano was walking through the complex with his son when they were approached by a man with a hooded sweatshirt pulled over his forehead and mouth. The assailant ordered Mexicano to take off his blue hat and tell his son to leave, then shot Mexicano in the back as he and his son ran in opposite directions. The boy later identified Aguilar as the gunman. "People struggle with the idea of such a heavy sentence for such a young man, but you're not just seeing a young man, you're seeing a young man who killed someone," Rabow said. "I think (the sentence is) appropriate."
Defense attorney Allen Kleinkopf reiterated his contention that Aguilar didn't kill Mexicano, that he did not, and could not, receive a fair trial because of the public enmity against gang members. "Juries hate them," Kleinkopf said. Kleinkopf called the affair "an incredibly prejudiced case," and argued that the judge inappropriately excluded potential testimony about the unreliability of eyewitness accounts while allowing a gang expert to "pontificate" for hours about the evils of gangs, and allow two "snitches" to testify against his client in exchange for reduced sentences. He said he believed his client was convicted with "too little evidence" and the jury simply wanted "closure."
"This was not an even-handed trial," he said.

Gang-related stabbing of an Antioch man whose injuries have left him in a coma

One man has been jailed and two other suspects identified in the gang-related stabbing of an Antioch man whose injuries have left him in a coma, police said.
Police arrested Nicholas Van Camp, 31, of Antioch, downtown about midnight today after public tips led investigators to identify him along with Antioch residents Robert Garcia, 20, and Jovon Allen, 22, as suspects. Garcia and Allen remain at large, and should be considered armed and dangerous, police said.The victim, a 22-year-old Antioch man, was found on Wilbur Avenue about 2:20 a.m. Monday suffering from multiple stab wounds to his upper body, police said. He was taken to a local hospital, and while he is expected to survive, he was put into a medically induced coma to stave off infection risks, said Antioch police Lt. Leonard Orman.
Orman said an investigation revealed that the victim and the three suspects are all associates of the Norteño street gang, and that the victim disrespected the gang in some way. The suspects were open about making their involvement in the stabbing known, he said."These folks were not keeping this secret," Orman said. "They were broadcasting this out, trying to send a message that they will not stand for any disrespect (to the gang)."Orman said police got numerous tips after news of the stabbing surfaced. All three suspects have extensive criminal histories, he said.
Van Camp was booked into County Jail in Martinez on suspicion of attempted murder and use of a deadly weapon, and is being held without bail because of a parole violation. Orman said investigators will seek a gang enhancement to the charges when they present the case to the District Attorney's Office.