Fresno gang member admits to firing gun that police believe killed Janessa Ramirez, 9

A gang member suspected of killing Janessa Ramirez admitted to firing a gun that police believe killed the 9-year-old girl outside a Fresno laundromat a year ago, a police detective testified Friday in Fresno County Superior Court.

Police say Janessa was killed by a stray bullet fired during a gunfight between two rival gang members on Marks Avenue north of Clinton Avenue during the evening hours of Jan. 18, 2015.

Prosecutor William Terrence contends Brian Cooks, 23, committed murder because he fired a gun in the gunfight that ended up killing Janessa.

Defense attorney Curtis Sok, however, says Cooks is not guilty of murder because he fired his gun at a drive-by shooter in self-defense.

“He heard four shots, boom, boom, boom, boom,” Sok said in his examination of homicide detective Adrian Alvarez.

“He wasn’t shooting at Janessa. He was aiming at the vehicle,” Sok said.

The killing of Janessa sent shock waves throughout the city, prompting police Chief Jerry Dyer to dispatch 40 detectives, who worked the case around the clock until it was solved.

After nearly two weeks of investigation, the 1,600-hour effort led to the arrests of Cooks, Isaac Stafford, then 19, and Donte Hawkins, 22, on murder charges. Stafford and Hawkins were later released from custody and never charged with murder in connection with Janessa’s slaying. Hawkins, however, is in Fresno County Jail, awaiting trial in an attempted murder case.

At a news conference to announce the arrests, Dyer said that Cooks and Stafford were intent on settling an old feud with guns as they confronted each other on Marks Avenue. A stray bullet struck Janessa, who was more than 200 yards away.

On the second day of Cooks’ preliminary hearing, Alvarez’s interview with Cooks and with Stafford took center stage.

The lead detective testified that Cooks was arrested 10 days after Janessa was killed and that Cooks initially lied in a recorded interview in his account of the shooting and the type of gun he used in the gunfight. Cooks initially said he used a chrome .38-caliber revolver, Alvarez testified.

Alvarez gave this account of what Cooks told him:

Cooks said he was riding his skateboard north on Marks Avenue and was headed to his mother’s home on Dayton Avenue when he saw a car just north of him. The car belonged to his friend, Stafford.

Cooks recalled dropping a $1 bill, so he turned around to fetch it. While he was doing that, a passenger in the car started shooting at him, he told the detective. Cooks said he wasn’t hit by gunfire because he hid near the front fender of a red Monte Carlo that was parked next to the curb of the southbound lane of Marks.

Once the gunfire stopped, Cooks said he used the Monte Carlo as a shield, raised his gun over his head and fired toward the car. Drawing a sketch for the detective, Cooks said the first shot headed in a northwest direction. The second shot traveled north.

But the physical evidence at the crime scene proved Cooks was lying, Alvarez testified.

The Monte Carlo had a bullet hole in the front fender and a bullet mark on the windshield, the detective said. It also had a bullet strike mark on the driver’s side door and a bullet hole in the rear driver’s side panel. There were no bullet markings or holes in the back of the vehicle, Alvarez said.

Confronted with the evidence, Cooks changed his story, saying he did fire a black Glock 19 after the passenger in the car shot at him first, Alvarez said.

Once gunfire erupted from the southbound car, Cooks said he lay on the ground on the passenger side of the Monte Carlo. Once the gunfire stopped, he stood up and fired one round at the drive-by shooter. The gun then jammed, Cooks said.

According to Alvarez, Cooks drew another sketch to show how the bullet traveled in a southeasterly direction toward a strip mall where Janessa and her mother and two family friends were standing outside a laundromat chatting.

Alvarez said Stafford gave a different account:

Stafford said he was driving his car from his mother’s home at the Ross Gardens Apartments on Marks Avenue when he saw a skateboarder. Stafford said he didn’t recognize the skateboarder.

Then his passenger, identified as Hawkins, started shouting: “Who’s that? Who’s that?”

Hawkins then shouted: “He’s got a gun. He’s got a gun.”

Stafford said Hawkins took a gun out of his waistband and started firing it. Initially, he said the skateboarder fired first, Alvarez testified. But then Stafford said it happened so fast he didn’t know who fired first. But Stafford was clear that the skateboarder fired the last shot as Stafford drove away as fast as he could, Alvarez said.

Thinking he had done nothing wrong, Stafford said, he wanted to call police, but Hawkins told him no, according to Alvarez’s testimony.

Stafford said his car was not hit by gunfire, the detective said.

Alvarez said Cooks was in the Modoc street gang, a violent southwest Fresno gang. He said Stafford and Hawkins were members of a rival southwest Fresno gang known as the Flyboys.

To dispel the notion that there was a feud between Cooks and Stafford, Sok asked Alvarez about his interview with Cooks. Alvarez testified that there was no evidence to show Cooks had ever threatened Stafford. Instead, Cooks thought highly of Stafford because he was going to college and was a good basketball player, the detective testified.

In addition, Cooks considered Stafford his friend since they had played basketball together, and Cooks said he could never understand why Stafford hung out with gang members, Alvarez testified.

The hearing, which will continue Monday, will determine whether Cooks should stand trial on a charge of murder. If convicted, he faces life in prison.

This story was originally published January 8, 2016 at 6:19 PM with the headline "Fresno gang member admits to firing gun that police believe killed Janessa Ramirez, 9."