Guilty verdict in Visalia gas station gang shooting
On Monday in Department 6 of the Tulare County Superior Court, Visalia Division, Tulare County District Attorney prosecutors secured a guilty verdict against Lorenzo Pineda, 28, for attempted murder.
On August 2, 2017, around 6 p.m., the victim was eating dinner with his parents at a restaurant inside the Circle 7 gas station in Visalia. As the group was eating, Pineda and Jorge Pineda (no relation), both gang members, arrived to order tacos.
An argument soon ensued over a 2013 incident between the two families. During the argument, the victim went outside and met with a group of opposing gang members, who then entered the restaurant. The argument escalated and as the group moved outside, Lorenzo Pineda drew a handgun from his waistband and fired 8 shots. The victim was shot twice and went through extensive medical treatment. Both Pineda’s jumped into a car and fled. The incident was caught on surveillance video. A warrant for Lorenzo Pineda was issued.
In August 2018, Jorge Pineda pleaded no contest to felony assault with a semiautomatic weapon and assault with a firearm along. Both counts were enhanced with special allegations that the crimes constituted street terrorism. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Lorenzo Pineda hid from law enforcement by using the assumed name “Angel Torres” and worked in the fields throughout the Central Valley. He turned himself in on May 22, 2023.
At trial, Pineda was convicted by a jury of three counts of willful, deliberate, and premeditated attempted murder of the three different victims. The jury further found true the special allegation the defendant discharged a firearm in the commission of the crimes, causing great bodily injury to one victim.
The jury further found true the attempted murders were committed at the direction for the benefit of or in association with a criminal street gang. In addition, the jury found true the aggravating factors the crime involved great violence, great bodily harm, threat of great bodily harm, or other acts disclosing a high degree of cruelty, viciousness, or callousness; the defendant was armed with or used a firearm at the time of the commission of the crime; and the defendant has engaged in violent conduct that indicates a serious danger to society.
Pineda faces life in prison at sentencing next month.
The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Michael Caldwell and was investigated by the Visalia Police Department’s special enforcement and violent crimes units.