One suspect took 15 hostages at pier arcade on busy summer holiday, shot five people
DOWNTOWN LA — A jury began deliberating Thursday in the case against two gang members charged with shooting five people and taking 15 hostages on the Santa Monica Pier nearly five years ago.
The five-hour standoff began after midnight on July 4, 2000, and ended in the early morning dawn with the surrender of Oswaldo Amezcua, a convicted felon wanted in connection with five other slayings. Three Santa Monica police officers and two civilians were injured in the gunfire.
Lawyers on Thursday delivered closing arguments in the trial against Amezcua, 29, and his accomplice, Joseph Flores, 24, both of whom face laundry lists of felony charges for a string of murders and attempted murders that spanned from their hometown of Baldwin Park to Victorville, Ontario, Fontana and Santa Monica. If convicted, each man might face the death penalty.
“To them, it’s nothing,” said Deputy District Attorney Darren Levine, who told jurors the pair always traveled together, and always carried with them a black bag full of guns, including a Ruger 9mm pistol and an automatic AK-47 assault rifle. “You think they’re willing to kill anybody? Yes. You think they’re going to shoot anyone that crosses their path? Yes.
“They are soldiers,” Levine added. “They are about doing harm. They’re on a mission to kill as many as they can, including cops.”
During Thursday’s court proceedings, the two tattooed men smiled and spoke with one another, and with their lawyers, turning at times to exchange glances with relatives seated in the courtroom. Each defendant wore an orange, jail-issued jumpsuit and black slippers. They were hand-cuffed and chained at their wrists and waists. Four sheriff’s deputies and one plain-clothes officer were present in the courtroom.
Together, Amezcua and Flores face more than 50 felony charges for a violent rampage that began June 7, 2000, and left five people dead. In addition to the murder charges, the two men face charges of attempted murder, robbery, arson, false imprisonment and assault on a peace officer, among others. They also have been charged for allegedly stabbing a fellow inmate with a shank at the Men’s Central Jail in downtown Los Angeles.
Amezcua and Flores have admitted to many of the shootings, which were directed mostly at other gang members and police, and openly told prosecutors that Santa Monica Police were “very lucky” to escape the 2000 pier incident without suffering any fatalities. Attorneys for Amezcua and Flores didn’t ask jurors to find the men not guilty of all the charges, but instead urged them to consider each charge carefully, and come to the appropriate conclusions.
“We’re not here to delay or trick you in any way. Most of this evidence is pretty easy to understand,” said attorney William Ringgold, who nonetheless reminded the jurors of their duty to consider reasonable doubt, adding not all of the charges had been proved beyond that threshold.
“Don’t fall into the trap of, ‘Oh these are bad guys, I’m going to find them guilty of everything.’ That would be a violation of your oath of a juror,” added Ringgold, one of two attorneys defending Flores.
Attorney Ezekiel Perlo, one of two lawyers representing Amezcua, said some charges have been proven against Flores but not against Amezcua. He cautioned jurors not to fall into the trap of guilt by association, using the era of Sen. Joseph McCarthy as an example and calling it un-American.
“What we’re hoping for is careful analysis,” he told the jury of 10 women and eight men, including alternates. “We hope you will do your duty.”
Jurors began deliberating Thursday afternoon and were expected to resume this morning. If Amezcua and Flores are found guilty on any charges, a sentencing trial will follow with the same jury. The case is being heard by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert Perry at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown Los Angeles.
The July 4, 2000 shoot-out began shortly after Santa Monica Police received a phone call at 1 a.m. from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department telling them Flores was on the pier. Investigators had located Flores by placing a call to his pager and tracing the call.
Police arrived and, after a fight, took Flores into custody. Amezcua, however, ran into the nearby Playland Arcade. Amezcua attempted to exit the rear of the arcade, but encountered officers and opened fire, according to police. Amezcua then took 15 people hostage, finally releasing the last of the hostages and surrendering at 6:40 a.m. The pier was closed to thousands of tourists and visitors throughout the day.
Each of the officers injured in the incident have since recovered. Santa Monica Police officer Chris Coria was shot in the arm, and officer Steven Wong was shot in the leg. SMPD Sgt. Jim Hurt, who was hit in the leg, has since moved to the California Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement. A 17-year-old male civilian also was shot in the leg, as was a 35-year-old female civilian.
Levine asked the jury to consider the injured officers while deliberating.
“No matter what you think of police, there is no more honorable job, when done right, than coming to someone’s help when they are in harm’s way,” he said.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 11, 2005. Read the original PDF.