UPDATE, JUNE 28, 11:14 A.M.: The possible parole of 32-year-old gang banger Alfonso Gudino from Pelican Bay State Prison has been continued until 2016.
Gudin conceded before today's hearing that his parole would be denied, according to the Orange County District Attorney's office. He was convicted of attempted murder in 1998 for firing a gun three
times into a random–and occupied–car in a rival gang's La Habra
neighborhood.
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ORIGINAL POST, JUNE 28, 8:11 A.M.: Deputy DA Troy Pino of the Orange County District Attorney's (OCDA) Gang
Unit is scheduled to take a trip to Crescent City today to see that a
drive-by shooter who tried to kill a random victim in La Habra in 1997
stays up there.
Alfonso Gudino, 32, is scheduled to go before the Board of
Parole Hearings, California Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitations at Pelican Bay State Prison.
Gudino was convicted by a
jury on Sept. 22, 1998, of attempted murder with premeditation and
deliberation, shooting at an occupied motor vehicle, permitting another
to shoot from a motor vehicle, and committing the crime for the benefit
of a criminal street gang. He was sentenced on Dec. 18, 1998, to life in
state prison plus three years. According to the OCDA:
On May 10, 1997, Gudino and two fellow gang members drove into a La
Habra neighborhood armed with a loaded firearm in search of a random
victim to shoot and murder. Gudino observed 19-year-old John Doe, whom
he recognized from the neighborhood but did not know, in a nearby car.
The inmate and his fellow gang members drove past the victim's vehicle
and attempted to murder him by firing three shots into the car. Gudino
and his co-defendants then fled the scene. The bullets struck the
victim's vehicle, but John Doe was uninjured.A witness called 911 to report the shooting and provide a vehicle
description of the shooters. That same day, Gudino was pulled over by
police officers while driving a vehicle matching the description of the
suspect's car. He was in possession of a loaded revolver under the
backseat with expended casings in its cylinder. Gudino and the two
other gang members had gunshot residue on them and were arrested. A
subsequent test of a bullet fragment stuck in the victim's car was
matched to the gun found in Gudino's vehicle.
Pino will argue that Gudino has failed to accept responsibility or show remorse for his crimes. He was on probation after serving times in jail for possession of a loaded
firearm in public at the time of the attempted murder. So, instead of being deterred by the prospect of state prison, Gudino escalated his gang-related crimes, with his shooting at a random victim “evidence of the inmate's callous disregard for
human life,” according to the OCDA.
Prosecutors also note Gudino's lack of rehabilitation while being incarcerated from 1999 to 2009, a time when he was cited for multiple prison violations that include battery on an inmate, possession of a weapon, possession of alcohol, and
possession of a cell phone. He was recently placed in secured
housing after joining a violent Hispanic prison gang in April 2010, the OCDA notes.
“The OCDA is opposing the parole of Gudino because he does not accept any
responsibility for the crime and falsely claims he did not know he was
in possession of a firearm,” reads a statement from the agency. “Gudino would pose a threat to public safety
if released due to his lack of concern for human life, his inability to
follow the rules even while incarcerated, and his recent decision to
join a prison gang.”
The hearing is scheduled to begin at 8:30 this morning.
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.