Key Weapon in Shooting Trial Unseen by Witnesses

A key weapon in the trial of two men accused of shooting migrant workers in De Luz was unseen by dozens of witnesses, according to testimony today.

The defendants, Esau Vasquez, 28, and Ismael Vasquez, 20, meant only to rob a group of farm workers when somebody in the crowd fired at them with a shotgun, according to defense attorney Paul Maineri.

More than a dozen witnesses said they saw no shotgun, testified Ernest Lopez, a detective with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.

The shooting happened at McMillan Farm, an avocado plantation near Caranchos and Los Gatos roads on April 7, 2007.

Lopez interviewed 15 people after the shooting, and none reported seeing the shotgun, he said.

Shortly after the shooting, investigators said they had difficulty getting accounts from witnesses because most or all of them were illegal immigrants. Lopez disagreed about the reason.

“It’s a huge area, it’s open,” he said after testifying. “That’s why they didn’t see anything.”

The detective – who speaks Spanish – has a good rapport with the workers. After several unrelated incidents, they found witnesses and brought them forward during investigations, he recalled.

“They brought people to me to talk. They were not afraid to talk,” Lopez said.

When the shooting happened, the workers were gathered around a van that sells basic goods, such as work clothes, that goes to the farm every Saturday, which is payday.

One victim, Cristobal Gonzales, 69, was walking by the crowd when the shooting broke out, he testified today.

He heard shots – two from Esau Vasquez and seven or eight from Ismael Vasquez, who was hiding in the trees nearby – and felt bullets hit the left side of his torso, he said.

A bullet went through his arm and into his torso, knocking him off balance. “I was falling, and somebody else caught me and we started running,” he said through an interpreter.

He stayed on the property until an ambulance rushed him to a hospital. “They hit me on the side of my heart and when I would breathe, blood was spurting out,” he said.

When asked, he said he never saw a shotgun. Nonetheless, medical records show one of the victims, Vincente Avalos, suffered from a shotgun wound, said defense attorney Paul Maineri.

Avalos was one of about 20 workers who worked in the field for $360 per week and lived in tents on the property, he testified Thursday.

Avalos was walking toward the field when the defendants came out from hiding wielding guns, one with a handgun and the other with a rifle.

The defendants bound the victim, beat him, and held him until the foreman arrived to pay the workers, Avalos said.

Esau Vasquez then walked with Avalos with his handgun pointed at his head to the foreman and ordered Avalos to demand the foreman’s money.

Then, without warning, the shooting erupted, he said.

Avalos got free from his captor and ran, but was shot in the torso as he fled, he testified.

The defense has medical reports proving the wound came from a shotgun blast, Maineri said.

If convicted, the defendants could face life in prison plus 38 years

City News Service contributed to this report.