Jury reaches verdict in retrial of man accused of murder amid simmering Fresno gang feud
A Fresno County jury has found Jerel Stanfield guilty of murdering gang rival William Simpson on Easter Sunday 2013.
This was Stanfield’s second murder trail for the same crime. He was tried in 2017 for killing Simpson, but the jury was deadlocked on the murder charge and the judge declared a mistrial.
But prosecutor Chris Gularte, who handled the first trial, pursued the case again with a new jury. The previous jury deliberated over the course of four days.
This time, the jury returned its verdict Thursday afternoon, after deliberating about a day and a half.
Stanfield, who was not in custody, was placed in handcuffs to await his sentencing, to be determined on Friday by Judge Jonathan Conklin.
He was found guilty of murder, assault with a firearm and possession of a firearm by a felon.
Conklin presided over a trial that marked by tense and emotional moments, including the testimony of Simpson’s girlfriend. She was the lone witness who placed Stanfield at the shooting on March 31, 2013.
Her 3-year-old son and Simpson were asleep in a parked car outside of a relative’s apartment in central Fresno when she said Stanfield shot Simpson several times.
During her testimony, Simpson’s girlfriend broke down in tears as she listened to her own terrified voice as she spoke to a 911 operator the night of the shooting.
She left the courtroom in tears, shouting and cursing at Stanfield.
Conklin ordered an immediate recess and later denied a request from Stanfield’s defense attorney Kevin Little for a mistrial.
Simpson’s girlfriend admitted in court that she did not want to testify for fear of gang retaliation against her. The day she testified there was a heavy presence of Fresno police officers.
Police said both men were members of rival gangs: Simpson, a Dog Pound member and Stanfield a part of the Strother Boys. At the time, both gangs were feuding with on another.
This story was originally published February 9, 2023 at 5:21 PM.
