Date: July 7, 2015
INMATE DENIED PAROLE FOR 10 YEARS FOR 1991 STABBING-MURDER OF UNARMED TEEN AT HOUSE PARTY
SANTA ANA – The Board of Parole Hearings (Panel), California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, denied parole for 10 years today for an inmate convicted of the 1991 stabbing murder of an unarmed teenager after getting into an argument with him at a house party. Robert Aguirre Jr., 42, is currently being held at Kern Valley State Prison in Delano. Aguirre was found guilty at a court trial on May 24, 1993, of second degree murder with a sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a knife. He was sentenced on July 22, 1993, to 16 years to life in state prison. This case was originally prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Mark Sevigny.
Deputy District Attorney Janine Madera of the Gang Unit attended the hearing at the prison today to oppose Aguirre’s parole.
Before denying the inmate’s parole, the Panel took into consideration Aguirre’s recent prison rules violations and his lack of insight and remorse for the crime, citing his continued gang association, minimal self-help, minimal programming and vocational training and incomplete parole plans. Aguirre will be eligible for his next parole hearing in 2025.
Murder of Emanuel Macklin
On the evening of Oct. 15, 1991, Aguirre then 19 years old, went to a party at a home in La Habra. Aguirre was an associate of a criminal street gang. Also attending the party was 16-year-old Emanuel Macklin, who was not a member of any criminal street gang. During the course of the evening, people at the party asked Macklin about his gang affiliation, to which he denied having any membership. The victim, who was unarmed, was later attacked by several people, striking and kicking him. Aguirre then stabbed Macklin a total of five times with a knife while the victim was being held down. Macklin died as a result of a stab wound to his right abdomen.
Unreasonable Risk of Danger to Public Safety
Since his incarceration, Aguirre is still an active participant in a criminal street gang. He has accumulated six separate prison rule violations including battery on an inmate, battery on an inmate with serious injury, participation in a riot, and most recently, possession of a cell phone.
Aguirre’s continued engagement in criminal gang activity while incarcerated demonstrates that he would be an unreasonable risk of danger to public safety had he been released. Based on his criminal gang affiliation and inability to follow the rules in a structured prison setting, Aguirre will not be released into the community.