Accomplice gets prison in gang homicide case

An accomplice in a lethal gang attack on two Novato teenagers in 2016 was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years and four months in prison.

Javier Guevara was one of eight defendants charged in the attack that killed Edwin Josue Ramirez Guerra, 17, and maimed a 17-year-old classmate. Both victims were students at Novato High School.

Guevara, 26, accepted a plea offer in August and testified against Edenilson Misael Alfaro, an alleged gang leader accused of directing the attack. A Marin County jury convicted Alfaro last week of murder, attempted murder and aggravated mayhem.

The crimes occurred in May 2016 at the waterfall near the end of Fairway Drive in Novato. The prosecution alleged that Alfaro and other defendants lured the victims to the site for a gang ambush.

Ramirez Guerra, 17, was repeatedly hacked with a machete and apparently bludgeoned with rocks, the prosecution said. The other victim survived gunshots to the head and torso, and he pretended to be dead until he could escape.

Guevara was among the defendants charged with murder, attempted murder and other counts. He left the country and was not arrested until 2021, when he agreed to surrender.

By then, many of his codefendants had already been convicted. A jury convicted one codefendant, Juan Carlos Martinez Henriquez, now 24, of murder, attempted murder and mayhem. Three other defendants pleaded guilty to being accessories. Another had his charges dismissed for insufficient evidence, but pleaded guilty to a gang recruitment felony.

In the Guevara case, the prosecution and the defense negotiated a plea for two counts of felony mayhem, which refers to dismemberment or permanent disfigurement. The two sides agreed to the prison sentence, the maximum available for the charges.

Deputy District Attorney Geoff Iida, who prosecuted the case, said Guevara voluntarily turned himself in because he wanted to accept responsibility for his actions.

Judge Paul Haakenson sentenced Guevara on Tuesday afternoon in Marin County Superior Court. Haakenson said he was “not inclined to disrupt” the plea deal and accepted the prosecution's theory of Guevara's involvement.

Haakenson said the prosecution's case indicated that Guevara did not wield the machete and was “acting under some compulsion” in fear of his own life.

But he did chase Edwin Josue Ramirez Guerra, and, having cornered him, took no action to let him go, Haakenson said.

“I think Mr. Guevara, it can be fairly stated, he traded Josue's life for his. He was the only one chasing Josue ini

tially,” Haakenson said. “Josue might be alive if Mr. Guevara had acted differently than he did in the heat of the moment.”

Guevara must serve at least 85% of his sentence before he is eligible for parole. He was granted 610 days of credit for the time he has spent in jail since his arrest.

Alfaro could face life in prison without the possibility of parole. The sentencing date has not been set. He also has homicide cases pending in Washington state and Maryland.

One codefendant remains at large: Marlon Alexander Ortiz Majano.