Testimony describes chaos of fatal Clovis nightclub shooting. ‘I took cover behind the bar’
Eddie Cordero, the 26-year-old Fresno man accused of killing two men in a Clovis nightclub, will be going to trial, a Fresno County judge ruled Monday.
Cordero is charged with two counts of murder and one count of assault with a firearm for the May 21 shooting of Merehildo Luna, 21, of Fresno, and Andres Sanchez 27, of Sanger. Also wounded was Robert Rubio Jr. of Fresno
Clovis police said the shooting happened at the Palace Nightclub in Old Town Clovis at about 2 a.m.
Witnesses and police testified that Cordero got into an argument with Luna while at the bar earlier in the evening. No punches were thrown as the bar’s security asked Cordero and his friends to leave.
One of those friends, Santiago Garcia, was with Cordero that night when someone asked the defendant what he was looking at. “I didn’t know who they were, there were these two to three guys who started an argument,” Garcia testified.
After the confrontation, Garcia, Cordero and two other friends left the bar and went to their respective homes.
Except, Cordero apparently went back to the club armed with a gun, said Detective Kendrick Anderson.
Detective Anderson said Cordero and his roommate Anthony Guzman, who is charged with accessory to murder, drove to the Palace. Cordero got out of the vehicle, walked in, spotted Luna sitting down and began firing.
It appears that Luna was the intended target and Sanchez was a bystander as was Rubio, who was the bar’s disc jockey for the night. Rubio was shot in the leg and survived, according to testimony.
Rubio testified that he heard between 10 to 14 shots that night.
“As soon as I heard the gun shots I took cover behind the bar,” he testified. “It felt like someone had landed on my leg because it hurt. I pulled up my pant leg and noticed I was bleeding.”
Cordero immediately fled after the shooting and wound up in Arizona. He was caught and arrested a few days later.
Anderson said one of the key pieces of evidence against Cordero is the bar’s video surveillance. It shows Cordero walking into the bar and start shooting. The detective testified that he showed Cordero the video.
“He said, ‘That’s me,’” Anderson said.
During his interview with police, Cordero also showed the detective how he did the shooting, pretending to hold a handgun with two hands and moving from right to left.
Cordero’s defense attorney Jonathan Richter questioned one of Cordero’s friends about whether they had ever seen Cordero with a gun or seen him get into a fight and they said no. Although one friend who testified, Angel Mejia, said he and Cordero physically fought once and he considered him a hot head.
When asked by Richter if anyone else ever said that about Cordero, Mejia said no.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Elana Smith said it was clear Cordero intended to kill Luna, and he also killed Sanchez and wounded Rubio.
She said Cordero could face the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole if he is found guilty.
Cordero’s next court hearing is scheduled for Nov. 23.
This story was originally published November 8, 2021 at 6:00 PM.
