Fresno teen admitted shooting man in the head, says detective. Was it self defense?

A Fresno teen accused of committing a fatal shooting outside a southwest Fresno market will stand trial on charges of first degree murder, a Fresno Superior Court Judged decided Tuesday.

Silbiano Madrigal, 18, is accused of shooting Michael Daniels in the head after a fistfight involving a handful of people outside Zack’s Market in the 800 block of East California Avenue on Feb. 9 last year.

Daniels died 10 days after the shooting. The defendant — 17 at the time of the shooting — is being tried as an adult.

After hearing testimony from detectives and others, Judge Jonathan B. Conklin determined there’s ample evidence to send Madrigal to trial.

But Madrigal’s attorney Gerald Schwab Jr. believes his client acted in self defense, and said there’s video evidence to prove it.

Fresno police Detective Luis Carrillo earlier this year testified the shooting happened after Daniels had fought with Madrigal’s friend, Tayviyon Smith, 18, at the Westside Market on Elm Avenue in southwest Fresno.

After the fight, Smith called his father, Isaac Smith. From there, the Smiths and Madrigal drove in a Dodge Durango, looking for Daniels. An altercation between Daniels and the group followed in the parking lot of Zack’s Market, ending in Madrigal shooting Daniels.

Carrillo on Tuesday testified Madrigal admitted during a police interview he had committed the shooting.

He made the admission after repeated denials, Carrillo said, and apparently showed remorse for what he’d done. “His brother had always told him to stay out of trouble,” Carrillo testified. “He knew his life was over.”

With video evidence showing the moment Daniels, 26, was shot in the market’s parking lot at Martin Luther King Boulevard and California Avenue, Carrillo testified several interviews he conducted after the shooting suggested Madrigal pulled the trigger.

Schwab pressed Carrillo during cross examination on the details leading up to the fatal shot being fired.

Video evidence collected by the Fresno Police Department’s Street Violence Bureau showed the moment Daniels was confronted first by Isaac Smith and later by son Tayviyon Smith.

Daniels fought back the assaults, even knocking the older Smith to the ground. After the brief scuffle, Daniels made his way toward the driver’s side of Isaac Smith’s black Dodge Durango, before he was shot in the head. According to Carrillo’s testimony, Madrigal was at arm’s length from Daniels when the shot was fired.

Daniels’ mother was in the courtroom and broke down in tears when the video was played.

Schwab said evidence that Daniels fought back attacks from the Smiths, and then rushed toward the Durango could help Madrigal’s self defense claim that his client feared for his life when Daniels charged at the vehicle.

The Durango was spotted in surveillance video, fleeing from the parking lot, with Madrigal and Tayviyon Smith’s mother in the back.

Carrillo said the mother confessed to police that she heard Madrigal say “I got him, I got him,” when the shot was fired at Daniels. Isaac Smith also later told detectives Madrigal fired the shot, Carrillo said.

Carrillo testified Madrigal had a .22-caliber handgun with him, which he had gotten about two weeks before the shooting. Detectives said he admitted to dumping the gun in a stormwater basin afterward.

Carrillo added that Madrigal reported his house had experienced a drive-by from a member of the West Fresno Norte gang, which Madrigal had dropped out of not long before. Madrigal said the weapon was for protection, Carrillo testified.

At an earlier hearing in Fresno County Juvenile Court, where Judge Gregory Fain decided to have Madrigal tried as an adult, Fain said Madrigal showed “criminal sophistication” when he shot Daniels.

In that hearing, Fain said Madrigal had no reason to shoot Daniels since he’d never assaulted the defendant that day in February 2017. Though Daniels approached the car in an angry manner, he was unarmed, the judge said. In addition, Isaac Smith was about to drive away and Madrigal was in a relatively safe place, Fain said.

This story was originally published December 19, 2018 at 10:46 AM.