Two gang members will stand trial in killing of popular barber

Two Fresno gang members will stand trial in connection with a killing last year inside an apartment near the Fresno State campus, a judge has ruled in Fresno Superior Court.

After several days of testimony, Judge Timothy Kams said on Thursday there was probable cause to believe that Marquise Graves, 25, and Jahleel McGruder, 28, murdered 32-year-old Brajoni Freeman on July 19, 2017.

Kams also ruled there was sufficient evidence to support special circumstance allegations that the killing was during the commission of a robbery or burglary, and that the shooting benefited or was at the direction of a criminal street gang.

If convicted, Graves and McGruder each face life in prison. They have pleaded not guilty to the murder charge.

Testimony showed Graves and McGruder are members of the Northside Pleasant Street gang.

Freeman was a well-liked barber who made money by cutting hair inside his apartment in the 4400 block of East Sierra Madre Avenue, a half-block from Fresno State. Freeman was not in a gang, but made extra money by selling drugs, testimony revealed.

“He liked to hustle,” his girlfriend, Pauline Barela, testified.

In testimony, Barela described her perspective on the moments before and after the killing:

Barela was on the phone with Freeman when he said, “someone’s at the door.” After he answered the door, the next thing she heard was “get on the ground.”

Before the telephone call abruptly ended, Freeman told her: “Babe, I’m being robbed.”

“I could tell he was scared,” she testified.

Barela said she and one of Freeman’s relatives drove to Freeman’s apartment. There, they found Freeman on the ground and called 911.

Barela testified Freeman typically had cash in his home. But she knew something was amiss because drawers of a desk where he kept his cash were open. “He’s a tidy person,” Barela explained.

The key evidence is a surveillance video that captured the two defendants getting out of a car and walking toward the victim’s apartment. The video does not show them going inside Freeman’s apartment, but they are seen leaving the area a few minutes later, defense attorney David Mugridge said.

Mugridge, who represents McGruder, said it’s possible that someone else killed Freeman before the two defendants arrived at the victim’s home.

Until their trial, Graves and McGruder will remain in the Fresno County Jail in lieu of $1.53 million bail each. Their arraignment on the murder charge is Aug. 10.