Westside San Bernardino gang member Keith Slaughter Jr. was convicted this morning on 18 of the 20 felonies he was charged with, including murder.
My colleague John Berry was in the courtroom for the reading of the verdict. He says that the 20-year-old Slaughter showed little emotion as the verdict was announced inside a standing-room-only gallery.
Slaughter was found guilty of the May 22, 2006 murder of 14-year-old Jarred Mitchell, who was shot while listening to music on a Home Street driveway. He was also found guilty of 12 counts of attempted murder, two counts of criminal threats and single counts of assault with a semi-automatic firearm, vehicle theft and shooting at an inhabited dwelling.
The shootings took place over the course of nearly a year, from May 2006 to Jan. 2007. All the charges carried a special allegation that Slaughter committed them to benefit his family's 18th Street gang.
Jurors failed to reach a verdict on single counts of attempted murder and assault with a semi-automatic firearm, stemming from a confrontation prosecutors said Slaughter had with Jarred, his cousin, two days prior to the 36-rounds of bullets fired on Home Street that killed him.
The trial that preceded today's verdict was packed with expletive-laced rap recordings, jail phone calls discussing witnesses in the case and Slaughter's personal accusations that police were framing him in an effort to make up for losing a prior murder charge agains his uncle.
Today's convictions each carry state prison sentences of 25 years to life. Slaughter will be sentenced on May 12.
His parents, Keith Slaughter Sr. and Julie Slaughter, return to court later this month on charges they intimidated witnesses in the case.
But before then, a recap of past coverage of this trial:
March 13: A look at the year leading up to the case, with the arrests of Slaughter and both his parents on suspicion of intimidating witnesses.
March 14: Prosecutors open, warning jurors they're about to hear "a classic gang case."
March 27: On cell phone rap recordings, a man alleged to be Slaughter brags of "droppin' bodies."
April 2: Slaughter gives surprise testimony on his own behalf, denying that he ever held a gun.
April 3: Alibi witnesses place Slaughter at a hospital the night Jarred is killed; prosecutors aim to show another side.
April 8: Both sides give their closings, with prosecutors reminding jurors of the perils of testifying in a gang case and defense questioning the police investigation that put Slaughter on trial.
This was a lengthy trial that relied on a multi-faceted case pieced together by detectives over the course of more than a year. More on this later.
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Thanks for reading. My colleague, courts reporter John Berry, has been covering the "Dead Presidents" case. The trial for co-defendant John Adrian Ramirez ended in a mistrial last month (http://www.pe.com/localnews/fontana/stories/PE_News_Local_D_dead27.2a1af0.html). It appears that the other defendants will stand trial later this year, with Ramirez perhaps being retried as well.
Thank you for all of the updates you have posted on this blog. Are there are new updates on the "Dead Presidents" trial? It appears to have gone by the way-side.
Keep up the great work, and may God bless you for having the courage & strength to report what no one else wants to talk about.