Fresno gang member guilty of killing innocent victim in 2014 drive-by

A 21-year-old Fresno gang member faces life in prison without the possibility of parole after a jury on Thursday convicted him of killing an innocent victim in a drive-by shooting in March last year.

Richard Armando Melendez showed no reaction when the verdict was announced in Fresno County Superior Court. His family cried.

A jury of seven women and five men deliberated less than four hours before finding him guilty of first-degree murder in the shooting death of 18-year-old Brian Flores. Melendez also was found guilty of three counts of attempted murder for trying to kill Flores’ friends.

In addition, the jury found true two special allegations: Melendez committed a drive-by shooting and he did the killing to promote the Bulldogs criminal street gang.

After the verdict was announced, Flores’ mother, Audrey Flores, hugged prosecutor Sam Dalesandro and thanked him and the detectives who solved the case.

“Justice was served for Brian,” Flores said. “But it’s also a sad day for (Melendez’s) family. My heart goes out to them.”

Flores was killed during the early hours of March 5, 2014.

During the trial, Dalesandro and defense attorney Douglas Foster agreed that Brian Flores was a nice, kind-hearted young man who had no gang ties.

Audrey Flores said her son’s death is the product of what happens when parents don’t teach their children morals and values: “Parents have to set the standard. If they don’t put God in their lives, these tragedies will never stop.”

Dalesandro told the jury that Melendez, who was a passenger in a car, fired several shots into a car driven by Flores near the intersection of Ashlan and Marks avenues. The gunfire killed Flores but missed his three friends who were passengers in the car.

Dalesandro said Melendez’s intended target was Steven Cabrera, a passenger in Flores’ car. Cabrera once belonged to a gang that is a rival of the Bulldogs, but dropped out of the gang years ago, the prosecutor said.

A few hours before the killing, Cabrera had an altercation with Melendez at the Mardi Gras celebration in the Tower District, Dalesandro said. After the deadly shooting, Cabrera, who once went to school with Melendez, called 911 and initially identified the gunman by a different name. He later picked Melendez out of a police photo lineup.

According to Dalesandro, Melendez made telephone calls before and after Flores was shot. FBI special agent Michael Easter, an expert on analyzing cellphone data, also testified that the cell phone calls, pinged off a nearby cell tower, put Melendez in the area when Flores was shot.

Dalesandro told the jury that Melendez sent text messages after the shooting in which he bragged about shooting out the windows of a car.

Melendez was arrested five days after the shooting. He never confessed to the shooting and police never found the murder weapon in his home. Melendez didn’t testify in his trial.

Foster argued that Cabrera’s identification couldn’t be trusted because he was high on marijuana when the shooting happened. Cabrera and the other passengers only caught a glimpse of the gunman because bullets were flying inside Flores’ car, Foster said.

Foster also said Easter’s expert opinion on cellphone data was “junk science.”

Judge Edward Sarkisian Jr. plans to sentence Melendez on Aug. 27.

Foster said he plans to file a motion for a new trial. He also plans to ask Sarkisian to reduce Melendez’s potential sentence of life in prison without parole on the legal grounds that it would be cruel and unusual punishment for someone who is young and without a significant criminal record.

This story was originally published July 9, 2015 at 5:40 PM with the headline "Fresno gang member guilty of killing innocent victim in 2014 drive-by."