Visalia gang member convicted of first-degree murder

A Visalia gang member faces life in prison without parole after a Tulare County jury found him guilty of first-degree murder with a gang enhancement on Wednesday.

Tulare County District Attorney Tim Ward said that Emiliano Enriquez, 28, was driving his girlfriend’s car on Nov. 17, 2008 near a park on Lover’s Lane in Visalia with three fellow gang members. They noticed Pedro Nunez, 25, eating lunch in a car nearby. Enriquez mistook Nunez’s blue Walmart assistant manager shirt for rival gang colors and shot him in the head and chest.

Ward said Enriquez admitted to having tattooed “187Murder” on his arm shortly after the shooting took place, but he denied his involvement.

Enriquez will be sentenced on Jan. 25.

This story was originally published December 23, 2015 at 7:03 PM with the headline "Visalia gang member convicted of first-degree murder."