Gang member was ordered to shoot at police. He’ll be in prison for 37 years to life

A Fresno gang member was sentenced Friday to 37 years to life in prison for shooting at police four years ago on the orders of a older gang member.

Joseph Chanla’s supporters told Judge Jonathan Conklin that Chanla didn’t intended to shoot at two Fresno police officers because he has a low IQ and had suffered a traumatic brain injury in the past.

The bullets hit the patrol car’s windshield but missed the two officers.

But Conklin said Chanla, 22, knew what he was doing. The judge also called Chanla’s fellow gang members cowards for taking advantage of people to promote their violent lifestyle.

The shooting happened around 5:30 p.m. Jan. 16, 2014, on Fresno Street, south of Belmont Avenue near downtown.

During Chanla’s trial in August, prosecutor Noelle Pebet said the police Violent Crime Impact Team was looking for a wanted man at 403 N. Fresno St. when Asian Boyz gang members Wilson Khounvixay and Chanla left the home.

According to Pebet, a witness heard Khounvixay tell Chanla, “Buck at them, foo, buck at them.” Pebet said the phrase means shoot at the officers. Uniformed officers Timothy Sullivan and Jarite Gueringer were then hit with flying glass after Chanla fired five shots at the patrol car’s windshield.

After the shooting, Khounvixay was arrested after officers found him hiding under a car. Police arrested Chanla a few days later after getting a tip that he was hiding in an apartment on the 500 block of North Orchard Avenue. Pebet said police found a semi-automatic handgun hidden in a television inside the apartment. Ballistics showed the gun was the one used to shoot at police, she said.

Defense attorney Greg Gross argued that Chanla was not guilty by reason of insanity because he has an IQ of 66, which is extremely low intelligence. Gross also said Chanla didn’t have a normal life: his parents moved to North Carolina and abandoned him in Fresno, leaving him homeless and depending on gang members to give him a place to sleep and eat.

In addition, Chanla once stayed in the hospital for a month after suffering a broken leg and concussion, Gross said.

Court records say Khounvixay, then 29, stood trial in August 2015 without Chanla because Chanla’s mental ability had been called into question. During Khounvixay’s trial, he testified that he barely knew Chanla and had no clue he was going to shoot at police. Once gunfire erupted, Khounvixay said he ducked for cover.

The jury was unable to convict Khounvixay of several charges, including attempted murder and assault with a firearm. To avoid a retrial, Khounivaxy pleaded no contest in October 2015 to assault with a firearm and was later sentenced to six years in prison, court records say.

In August, a different jury found Chanla guilty of attempted murder and assault with a firearm. The same jury concluded he was sane when he fired the shots and had done the shooting for the benefit of a criminal street gang.

This story was originally published January 5, 2018 at 12:17 PM with the headline "Gang member was ordered to shoot at police. He’ll be in prison for 37 years to life."