Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, September 28, 1995 TAG: 9509280045
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: FAIRFAX LENGTH: Medium
Gustavo Perez testified at his trial that he fired two shots at Anthony Ortiz outside a crowded Merrifield movie theater in January.
During a five-day trial in Fairfax County Circuit Court, Perez said he shot at Ortiz, 19, because he feared for his own life.
Perez was tried as an adult. He faces one to 10 years in prison for manslaughter, and three years for using a gun during the crime. He had been charged with murder and could have faced life in prison if he had been convicted.
The jury of eight men and four women deliberated 11/2 days before deciding on the lesser charge. Jurors declined to explain why they chose the lesser charge.
Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney John Murphy said jurors didn't buy the self-defense argument. ``I think it's especially significant in light of the post-traumatic stress disorder defense they offered,'' he said.
A defense psychologist testified that Perez suffered the disorder that began with a March 1994 beating by rival gang members.
Perez, a member of a gang called by the names La Trece or L.A. 13, was repeatedly accosted by members of Ortiz's La Nueva gang, defense attorneys said.
``Self-preservation is a fundamental instinct basic to human nature,'' lawyer Robert Whitestone told the jury during closing arguments Tuesday. ``Is there any question in anybody's mind that La Nueva was a vicious gang? Can there be any question about who was the aggressor on January 13th?''
Prosecutors argued the slaying was premeditated. Perez stuffed a loaded gun under his T-shirt and intentionally shot and killed Ortiz, they said.
Murphy called the stress disorder defense ``hogwash.''
Prosecutors argued that Perez shot Ortiz once in the stomach, then placed the gun on Ortiz's temple as he slumped bleeding and shot him in the head.
Prosecutors noted inconsistencies between what Perez told police on the night of the shooting and his court testimony. He told police that Ortiz was not armed, but in his testimony this week, he said Ortiz had a gun.
``This defendant in this case began lying the moment he shot Tony Ortiz,'' Murphy said.
Ortiz had just been released from jail in Arlington County after serving time for a drive-by shooting when he was killed, and prosecutors say he was a longtime gang member.
``Tony Ortiz was a bad guy. But that does not mean Tony Ortiz deserved to die that evening,'' Murphy said.
by CNB