FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Case # 12CF0764
Date: June 16, 2017
GANG MEMBER SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON WITHOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF PAROLE FOR MURDERING INNOCENT BYSTANDER DURING RETALIATORY GANG SHOOTING
SANTA ANA, Calif. – A gang member was sentenced today to life in state prison without the possibility of parole for murdering an innocent bystander in a retaliatory gang shooting in Santa Ana.
| Defendant | Charges | Sentence |
| Rene Mojarra, 25, Santa Ana | Found guilty by a jury on March 14, 2017, of felony:
Sentencing Enhancements
|
|
Circumstances of the Case
- At approximately 6:30 p.m. on March 12, 2012, Mojarra, a member of a criminal street gang with a moniker of “Reebok,” and another gang member were driving through rival gang territory with the intent to commit a retaliatory gang shooting.
- Mojarra was armed with a .40 semi-automatic handgun while riding in the passenger seat of a 1995 Red Nissan Quest Minivan in the area of East 15th Street and Spurgeon Street in Santa Ana.
- The defendant saw the victim, 20-year-old Mario Hernandez Jr., standing near the driveway of an underground parking structure.
- Mojarra got out of the vehicle and opened fire, striking the victim three times, before fleeing the scene.
- Hernandez was pronounced dead as a result of the gunshot wounds at 7:01 p.m. at the Western Medical Center.
- The victim was not a member of a criminal street gang.
- Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD) detectives, who investigated this case, identified the vehicle and arrested Mojarra on March 13, 2012.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Dave Porter of the Gang Unit prosecuted this case.