[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----OHIO, CALIF.

[Rick Halperin]

Sept. 30



OHIO:

Cuyhoga County's 2nd death penalty trial this year opens Friday: a look back at 
the Warrensville Heights massacre


Opening statements are scheduled to begin Friday for a 21-year-old man charged 
with aggravated murder who faces the death penalty in the 2015 massacre at a 
barbershop in Warrensville Heights.

Douglas Shine Jr. is accused of gunning down 3 people inside the Chalk Linez 
barbershop on Feb. 5, 2015, by order of a heroin kingpin. It is the 2nd time 
this year someone in Cuyahoga County will face the death penalty.

Brandon White and Walter Barfield, members of the Loyal Always gang, were shot 
to to death, barbershop owner William Gonzalez and several others were injured 
Feb. 5, 2015 in a shooting that prosecutors say was part of an ongoing beef 
between the gang and Tevaughn "Big Baby" Darling's drug operation.

According to prosecutors, Shine's criminal history began when he was a 
juvenile. He was convicted of 2 robberies, an assault, 2 criminal damaging 
incidents, 4 burglaries and an attempted burglary by the time he was 15 years 
old.

Over the next year he committed another robbery, 2 felonious assaults, another 
burglary and unlawful carrying of a concealed weapon, and pleaded guilty to a 
series of offenses in 5 separate criminal cases. He served 4 years in prison 
and was released on Dec. 22, 2014.

The barbershop massacre spawned a series of revenge killings and arrests. 
Here's a look back at the Warrensville Heights killings and the events that led 
to the shootings and the trail of death that followed.

April 24, 2014 -- Loyal Always gang members Stefon "Ching" Robinson robbed 
Tevaughn "Big Baby" Darling during a dice game. He later told police, that he 
knew Darling would seek retribution.

Jan. 12, 2015 -- Another Loyal Always member, Deandre "Prada" Gordon, robbed 
Darling at his home in Bedford Heights with a .45 caliber hand gun, the 
Cuyahoga County prosecutor's office said. Gordon shot Darling in the foot, 
stole money and drove away in Darling's rental car.

Jan. 20 -- Robinson was part of a 5-man card game inside his grandmother's home 
on Angelus Avenue. He phone rang and he walked outside. Shine jumped from a 
minivan and shot Robinson 13 times with a .9mm handgun, the Cuyahoga County 
prosecutor's office said. Robinson survived.

Jan. 22 -- Police respond to a call of shots fired at the intersection of 
Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive and and Corlett Avenue. Witnesses tell police 
they saw a man fire 7 to 10 shots. The man jumped out of a GMC Acadia and got 
into a white Toyota Avalon. Police later learned that the GMC was being driven 
by Lashawn Roby, a known associate of Shine, and determined that Walter 
Barfield fired shots at Shine, reports say.

Jan. 24 -- A man later identified as Shine opened fire on a car driven by 
Brandon White, police said. The shooter missed White's Ford Taurus, but hit 
another car on East 149th Street three times.

Feb. 5 -- A man dressed in all black walked into the Chalk Linez Barbershop in 
Warrensville Heights about 8:30 p.m. Shine walked up to Barfield, smiled and 
fired 2 shots at close range, prosecutors say. Armed with a gun in each hand, 
Shine turned and opened fire on the remainder of the barbershop, prosecutors 
say. William Gonzalez and Brandon White are also killed and 3 others were 
injured. It is the deadliest shooting in the suburban city's history.

Feb. 13 -- Shine is arrested after police surround the Clement Avenue home 
where he was hiding, police said. Officers tracked him down by following the 
owner of the GMC Acadia from the Jan. 22, 2015 shooting on Martin Luther King 
Jr. Avenue. Lashawn Roby rented a Volkswagen Passat after the barbershop 
shooting, and was seen visiting to the Clement Avenue home, according to court 
filings. Roby later pleaded guilty to attempted obstruction and was sentenced 
to 180 days in jail.

Feb. 19 -- Aaron Ladson, the brother of barbershop shooting victim Brandon 
White, told investigators that he saw Shine walk in and out of the barbershop 
during the shooting. He was taken to county jail "for his own protection," 
according to motions filed by Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy J. McGinty. 
His attorney on several outstanding drug cases, Ralph DeFranco, successfully 
filed a motion in court to have Ladson released. DeFranco also represented 
Shine's cousin, Darling.

March 16 -- DeFranco's motion was granted, and Ladson was released from county 
jail. He would stay under GPS monitoring at his grandmother's house on Harvard 
Avenue.

April 28 -- Prosecutors file new charges against Shine, this time including 
underlying felony specifications that level the death penalty as the maximum 
sentence if Shine is convicted at trial.

June 4 -- Ladson, who needed to attend a pretrial hearing for his pending drug 
cases, walked to his car in the driveway of his grandmothers home. A hitman in 
a black SUV driven by Lawrence Kennedy fatally shot Ladson, investigators said. 
The gunman was seen leaving in a white Honda Accord.

June 7 -- Lawrence Kennedy was shot and killed in an alley off Corlett Avenue. 
Police believe a member of the Loyal Always gang shot him in retaliation for 
another, unrelated killing. Kennedy was the last witness to Ladson's shooting.

Aug. 13 -- Deandre Gordon is convicted of aggravated robbery for the Jan. 22 
break in at Darling's home. Darling testifies in court, admitting that he is a 
drug dealer, according to the prosecutor's office. Judge Nancy Margaret Russo 
later sentenced Gordon to 10 years in prison.

Sept. 9 -- Police arrest Darling on drug trafficking charges, along with Duane 
"Worm" Washington.

Oct. 29 -- Corrections officers at Cuyahoga County Jail discovered notes in 
Darling's jail cell. Prosecutors believe the notes show he was planning to have 
Washington take responsibility for the drug enterprise. "Your best bet is to 
cop-out, take responsibility for your own actions. Because the longer you let 
this case sit you are giving the Fed's the opportunity to pick this up and you 
know we don't need those problems," Darling wrote to Washington, according to a 
court filing by the prosecutor's office.

Nov. 7 -- McGinty filed an unusual motion claiming that defense attorney Ralph 
DeFranco had become an unwitting accomplice to Darling's criminal enterprise 
when he filed the motion to have the now-dead Ladson released. The motion also 
claims that Darling paid for attorneys representing his co-defendants in the 
drug conspiracy case. The prosecutor asked the judge to determine whether there 
was a conflict of interest in the case.

Nov. 9, 2015 -- DeFranco resigns from Darling's case and a public defender is 
appointed. Darling is sent to solitary confinement, where he remained until he 
was sentenced to prison 7 months later. DeFranco told cleveland.com he had 
"nothing to do with any of that enterprise nonsense."

Feb. 4 -- Shine's brother, Kevin McKinney, is indicted on aggravated murder 
charges in the killing of Aaron Ladson.

April 26 -- Darling pleads guilty to felony conspiracy and drug trafficking 
charges. Co-defendants Washington and Laurie Jones and Rodney Willis also 
pleaded guilty.

April 28 -- Darling is sentenced to 14 years in prison, protesting during the 
hearing that he was "railroaded" and had been unable to contact his lawyer as a 
result of restrictions imposed on him in county jail.

May 16 -- A Cuyahoga County grand jury delivers a new indictment against Shine, 
claiming that he recruited McKinney to kill Pudge Ladson. For the 1st time, 
McKinney is also implicated in the barbershop massacre shooting.

June 7 -- Marcus Ladson, cousin of barbershop shooting victim Brandon White, is 
found guilty of murder and sentenced to 127 years in prison. He was sentenced 
for the murder of Curtis Avent III, a death for which prosecutors were unable 
to determine a motive, and attempted murder in a series of unsuccessful revenge 
shootings stemming from the barbershop massacre.

Sept. 7 -- The trial against Shine begins in Cuyahoga County Court of Common 
pleas. Defense attorneys argue in pretrial motions that several witnesses who 
picked Shine out of a photo lineup shouldn't be allowed to testify. Judge Joan 
Synenberg ordered that witnesses faces and voices cannot be recorded during 
trial, given the track record of assassination incidents stemming from the 
massacre. Jury selection for the high-profile trial is expected to take up to a 
month.

(source: cleveland.com)






CALIFORNIA:

Hollywood Woman Could Face Death Penalty in Fatal Liquor Store Robbery


2 women were charged today with capital murder for the shooting death of a 
liquor store clerk during an attempted robbery in North Hollywood.

Rosa Manuela Barrientos, 23, of Los Angeles, and Maria Michelle Inzunza, 25, of 
Hollywood, are accused in the killing late Saturday of Mohammed Kalam, 61, of 
North Hollywood at the Liquor Mart at Sherman Way and Bellaire Avenue.

The murder charge includes the special circumstance allegation of murder during 
the commission of an attempted robbery. Prosecutors will decide later whether 
to seek the death penalty against the 2, who are also charged with attempted 
2nd-degree robbery.

The criminal complaint alleges that Barrientos intentionally discharged a 
handgun during the crime and that she has a 2015 conviction for 2nd-degree 
robbery.

The 2 women, who were arrested Tuesday in Hollywood, were ordered held without 
bail while awaiting arraignment Oct. 18 at the Van Nuys courthouse.

Customers and neighboring business operators said Kalam, a native of 
Bangladesh, had worked the late shift at the liquor store for many years.

(source: patch.com)