A somber gathering in southeast Fresno to mourn a woman who died in a car crash was shattered by the sudden sound of a shooting that ended with a man’s death.
Andrew Levi Hammond, 28 of Coarsegold, is charged of three separate murders in Fresno County between 2020 and 2022.
Opposing attorneys at Hammond triple murder trialwhich began Monday, argued that one of the shootings occurred either in self-defense or because of a small dispute between rival gang members.
Hammond was charged with murder in the fatal shootings of Fernando Gonzales, 41, on September 28, 2020, Steven Rice, 47, on October 21, 2022, and Brandon Munoz, 39, on November 2, 2022.
He faces a possible life sentence and the death penalty.
Fresno County Superior Court Judge Johnathan B. Conklin is hearing the case.
Fatal shooting in 2020
The first day of witnesses surrounded Gonzales’ 2020 murder.
The attorney said Hammond shot Gonzales in a driveway outside a southeast Fresno home where a mother was holding a rosary for her daughter who died in an accident.
Hammond, who appeared in court in a gray suit and with hair shorter than it appeared on the day of his arrest, claimed through his lawyer that he fired in self-defense .
On that day in 2020, Gonzales was asked to leave the gathering because he was visibly drunk and arguing with another person in the backyard of the home, witnesses said.
Hilario Gutierrez Cruz, a witness, said he took Gonzales out of the gathering and began driving the intoxicated man home, but Gonzales would not get out of the car. They finally bought some beer and returned to the house where the rosary was being held.
Gutierrez Cruz testified that Gonzales fell asleep in the passenger seat of the car, which was reclined, and then someone approached the vehicle from the backyard and fired several shots and killed Gonzales. The witness said he never saw Gonzales with a gun.
Dead victim, agitator?
Other accounts, however, portray Gonzales as an agitator.
That Gonzales had a gun on him and shouted derogatory remarks to those gathered for the rosary. Some accounts recall that Gonzales shouted “I’ll be back” as he was escorted from the gathering.
The grieving mother, Enelida Mora Garcia, said she could hear Gonzales and others arguing in the front yard from the backyard of the home. She asked Gonzales to leave, then asked him to leave again after he returned.
She said she did not know the shooter, but described him as having a large “Fresno” tattoo on his chest. In court Monday, a large Fresno State logo was visible on the right side of Hammond’s face.
Witnesses said they believed Hammond and Gonzales were in rival gangs.
A case of lack of respect?
Defense attorney Richard A. Beshwate Jr., in opening statements, said Hammond heard the sound of a gun being brandished or cocked before opening fire on the car.
“Mr Hammond then acted in self-defense,” the defense lawyer said.
Mora Garcia testified that she heard a strange noise before the gunfire began, but she could not tell if it was the sound made by the sliding of a handgun.
Senior Deputy Prosecutor Kelly Smith argued that Hammond was not acting in self-defense — instead, he was angry at Gonzales.
“This is a case about disrespect and what the defendant, Mr Hammond, does when he feels disrespected,” he said.
The trial is expected to last about six weeks and will continue on Tuesday.