A SUSPECT has been found guilty of the shooting death of four people, including three teenagers, as horror details emerged at trial about their murders.
On Monday, a jury found Jose Larin-Garcia, 23, guilty of four counts of murder and they will now decide if he should be sentenced to death.
The verdict came after less than an hour of deliberations following months of testimony and two trials, after the first ended with a mistrial as the jury failed to reach a conclusion.
Prosecutors described the Palm Spring deaths on February 3, 2019, as a drug deal gone wrong.
Larin-Garcia has been charged with the deaths of Yuliana Garcia, 17, Jacob Montgomery, 19, Juan Duarte Raya, 18, and Carlos Campos Rivera, 25.
Riverside County prosecutor Samantha Paixo called the murders “executions” after each victim was found with at least two bullet wounds to the head.
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Police officers were called to the 3700 block of East Sunny Dunes Road with reports of a crashed car in which the bodies of Jacob, Yuliana, and Juan were found.
Carlos’ body was later discovered a number of blocks away on Canon Drive
Paixo added that blood spatter patterns which were produced as evidence show that the shooter was in the backseat of the car.
As Larin-Garcia was the only person to escape the car alive, the prosecutor concluded that he is the only possible shooter.
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Meanwhile, the defense argued that he was the only survivor who fled when someone else started shooting.
John Dolan, the attorney for Larin-Garcia, said: “One person is seen leaving the crime scene.
“No witness saw Larin-Garcia running in the direction of where he was found under the truck…He was hiding under the truck because he was evading the shooter. He was scared to death.
“Larin-Garcia is hiding from him, not from law enforcement.”
Larin-Garcia was found by officers hiding under a truck just blocks away from where his victims were found.
He was subsequently taken to the hospital for treatment due to a laceration but he left that night in his gown without being discharged by doctors.
Detectives arrested the teenager at an Indio bus station just before it was due for departure.
Paxio’s rebuttal said: “There is zero evidence that another person go out of that Green Corolla”.
She added: “Four people within minutes. Every single shot Larin-Garcia did on February 3, 2019, was a targeted kill shot. Every single one of them.
“Not only is Larin-Garcia an executioner, he’s a coward.
“He shot Duarte-Raya in the back of the head, he didn’t even get a chance to defend himself.”
Dolan announced his plan to appeal the verdict that was given on Monday to a room full of family members of the victims.
Dolan told News Channel 3: “I’m very disappointed, upset and I’m gonna go puke now.
“Horrible verdict, the worst I’ve ever seen in 45 years of practice.
“Jury came back in 30 minutes and never reviewed 1,000 exhibits and obviously didn’t have much of a discussion on four counts of murder.”
The jury began deliberations on Monday morning after closing arguments last week.
Before noon on Monday, it was announced by court officials that the verdict would be read that afternoon.
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Larin-Garcia is now considered eligible for the death penalty after the jury concluded that he committed multiple murders and that he was waiting to kill his victims.
This part of the trial will be launched on Wednesday and the death penalty can only be given if the jury is unanimous.
