SLO DA won’t seek death penalty for 3 alleged gang members charged with killing Oceano man
San Luis Obispo County prosecutors say they will not seek the death penalty for three alleged street gang members accused in the April 2019 shooting death of an Oceano man.
Daniel Fuentes, Sr., 41, collapsed inside a neighbor’s home in the 2200 block of Beach Street, after knocking on the door and telling the residents he had been shot.
Robert Garay, 28, of San Luis Obispo is accused of firing the gunshot that killed Fuentes.
Garay, as well as his brother, 21-year-old Gabriel Garay, also of San Luis Obispo, and 21-year-old Nathaniel Jara of Avila Beach, are facing charges of first-degree, premeditated murder and street terrorism.
The murder charge carries sentencing enhancements for allegedly being committed for the benefit of a street gang, Oceano 13.
Under state law, the county District Attorney’s Office could have pursued the death penalty for the alleged murder because of the enhancements.
But in court Wednesday, Deputy district attorney Lindsey Bittner told Superior Court Judge Jacquelyn Duffy that the District’s Attorney’s Office would not seek capital punishment in the case.
The three defendants showed little emotion but whispered to each other and their attorneys, sometimes smiling, as the announcement was made and they stood closely grouped in the jury stands.
The courtroom audience was filled with family members of both Fuentes and the defendants.
The decision came after a “careful and detailed review” of the facts in the case, according to a notice filed by the agency Monday. Though the death penalty has been taken off the table, the DA’s Office could reconsider its decision at a later time, the filing said.
If convicted, the three defendants could still face a possible sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Bittner told Duffy during Wednesday’s hearing that the District Attorney’s Office has substantial amounts of discovery to still provide the defense in the case, including a report on the alleged gang activity, which Bittner said she expected to be finalized this week.
The three men have pleaded not guilty to all charges and are due back in court Feb. 19.
Fuentes was found dead early on the morning of April 3, 2019, inside the home of a neighbor after he knocked on the door and told the residents inside that he had been shot, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office said.
Over the course of four months, detectives identified Jara and Gabriel and Robert Garay as suspects “based on extensive follow-up investigative processes, tips from the public and forensic evidence,” a Sheriff’s Office news release said.
Not including Jara and the Garays, there are currently six other San Luis Obispo County men and women facing murder charges in separate ongoing criminal cases.
