A jury convicted a gang member of first-degree murder last week in the 2017 shooting death of a man with ties to a rival gang in Anaheim.
Osiris Lenin Garfias Pedraza, 23, of Fullerton, was found guilty of one felony count of first-degree murder, one felony count of the personal discharge of a firearm causing death, and one felony county of active participation in a criminal street gang in connection with the murder of Jonathan Hernandez, 22, of Anaheim, on July 5, 2017. The jury also found the enhancement of special circumstances to be true.
Garfias Pedraza faces a minimum sentence of life without the possibility of parole.
Garfias Pedraza was in one of three cars that went into rival gang territory in Anaheim on July 4, 2017. Hernandez, who was on the street near Balsam Avenue and Curtis Court, traded insults with th rival gang members as they drove through the neighborhood.
The three cars left the neighborhood, but Garfias Pedraza went back and shot Hernandez to death. Anaheim police were called to the area of Balsam Avenue and Curtis Court at approximately 2:50 a.m. with reports of shots fired and a man down. Officers found Hernandez shot multiple times lying in the street next to a bicycle. He was later pronounced dead at UCI Medical Center.
“Gangs terrorize our communities and unnecessarily cost young people their entire lives, whether the victims of violence or the perpetuators of violence,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “We will not tolerate violence on our streets. We are pleased that a killer is being held accountable and will be behind bars for a very long time.”
