Man who spent 5 years in jail acquitted in gang slaying
A man accused of conspiring to kill the wife of a Mexican Mafia member in San Bernardino in 2017 was acquitted of all charges after serving five years in jail while awaiting trial.
Isaac Paul Aguirre, 48, was found not guilty July 21 at the San Bernardino Justice Center of murder and participating in a criminal street gang.
“He’s ecstatic to be released from custody and to have his life back,” said his attorney, Melanie Roe.
Aguirre was one of five people charged in the case.
Matthew Manzano was convicted of murder in 2020 and sentenced to 25 years to life. Robert Fernandez Jr. pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and street gang terrorism in 2018. He is due to be sentenced Friday. Richard Garcia pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in 2019 and was sentenced to 30 years. And Eric Moreno was slain in his prison cell just days after he was charged.
Carmen Gutierrez Rodriguez,
41, of North Hills was shot to death in the parking lot outside Gaby’s Cafe on North Mount Vernon Avenue on Jan. 18, 2017. She was the wife of convicted armed robber Andrew Rodriguez, according to a San Bernardino police news release.
Prosecutors said the five men, including three who were in prison at the time, plotted to kill her.
Roe said prosecutors relied on uncorroborated statements, including a jailhouse informant, to build a case against Aguirre. Roe said she told the jury that Aguirre had tried to leave the gang before the hit was ordered and elicited testimony that gang leaders would not have tapped a member in bad standing to assist in the plot.
“I conceded the government proved there was a conspiracy to murder Carmen, but I argued they failed to prove Mr. Aguirre was a member of that conspiracy or that he even knew about it,” Roe said.
Aguirre was ordered released from custody after the verdict. He had been in jail for a year after a drug conviction before he was jailed in connection with the slaying four years ago.
The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office had no comment on Roe’s statements, said Jacquelyn Rodriguez, a DA’s spokeswoman.