Gang member convicted in murder of blind man

From the Los Angeles Times:

A Santa Ana gang member has been convicted of first- degree murder for shooting a blind Armenian man execution-style so he could steal his car and sell it for parts.

After deliberating for 2 1/2 days, a jury Tuesday found Ruben Alejandro Oliveros, 27, guilty of first-degree murder with gang and weapons enhancements for killing Raffi Yessayan, 26.

Prosecutors said Oliveros and co-defendants Marco Antonio Charcas-Fernandez, 23, of Santa Ana and Aurelio Fidencio Saldivar, 30, of Costa Mesa plotted to steal Yessayan's customized black Nissan sedan. Yessayan had to be driven around in his car by friends because he was legally blind.

On the night of June 6, 2006, prosecutors said, Oliveros got into an argument with Yessayan -- a member of another gang but not a rival -- while they were cruising in the car with Charcas-Fernandez and Saldivar.

When Saldivar suddenly pulled the car into a dirt parking lot in Orange, Oliveros and Yessayan engaged in a fistfight, said Cameron Talley, an Orange County deputy district attorney.

Oliveros pulled out a .357 magnum handgun and pressed it to Yessayan's head, prosecutors said. They said Yessayan begged for his life as long as a minute before Oliveros shot him in the back of the head.

When he fell to the ground, Saldivar took the gun and shot him in the head a second time, prosecutors said.The three then fled, leaving Yessayan behind and taking the car to be dismantled and sold for parts.

Joggers discovered Yessayan's body the next morning.Charcas-Fernandez and
Saldivar are each charged with one felony count of special-circumstances murder during the commission of a robbery for the benefit of a criminal street gang, and other gang charges. They are scheduled to stand trial Jan. 12.

Three other co-defendants who allegedly helped dismantle the car or hide the murder weapon have been charged with one felony count each for being accessories to the murder. Each faces a maximum eight years in prison if convicted. Another person, who helped dispose of the weapon, was sentenced to 247 days in jail and placed on three years' probation.

Talley, the prosecutor, said the case was particularly tragic because Yessayan, an only child, was an easy target and had begged for his life before he was shot.

"They planned on shooting this kid, and to do it in such a cold-hearted way is pretty vicious," he said.

Oliveros faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. He is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 9.