Man pleads guilty to murder in shooting at Arvin nightclub
A defendant pleaded guilty Friday to killing two people and attempted murder of another in a 2015 Arvin shooting, avoiding a jury trial scheduled for March.
According to the Kern County District Attorney’s Office, Juan Pablo Vega, 40, pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder.
Vega was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder for shooting Jorge Zavala and Federico Moreno at El Potrero Night Club on June 8, 2015, The Californian previously reported. Another man was shot but survived.
The Californian previously reported that Vega could face the death penalty if he was convicted of killing the two men. Vega’s case in the Arvin shooting was combined with a case in Lamont where he faced one count of attempted murder, shooting at an occupied vehicle, assault with firearm on a person, and possession of a firearm by a felon in 2017.
Prosecutors said that Vega’s girlfriend, Lourdes Olvera, 39, called Vega that evening and told him to come shoot men at the Arvin nightclub who were bothering her, The Californian previously reported. Olvera’s defense counsel in her jury trial said she called Vega for a ride home and did not tell him to shoot anyone.
After a mistrial in 2016, Olvera pleaded guilty to two counts of solicitation to commit a murder and witness tampering. Two counts of first-degree murder and one count of threatening with the intent to terrorize were dismissed, according to the Kern County Superior Court. Olvera was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
A third co-defendant, Salvador Chavez, 44, pleaded no contest to being an accessory to the crime, according to the Superior Court website. Chavez was sentenced to time served in prison plus five years of probation.
Vega is expected to be back in court April 17 for his sentencing. He could face up to 26 years to life in prison, according to the DA’s office.