Christine Blau 
SANTA ANA, CA — A 50-calendar year-previous Orange County gentleman was acquitted Tuesday of attempted murder in the taking pictures of a neighbor he sparred with over trash cans and parking.
Jose Luisvallad Trujillo, who has been in custody considering the fact that his arrest in January 2018, was acquitted of attempted murder and a lesser charge jurors viewed as, tried voluntary manslaughter. He was also going through sentencing enhancements for the particular use of a firearm, inflicting excellent bodily personal injury and discharge of a firearm creating fantastic bodily damage.
Trujillo is a handyman in Laguna Beach, and his clientele in the town pitched in to go over his protection, in accordance to his attorney Michael Molfetta said.
“He’s a handyman for two households in Laguna Seashore and they paid out for me,” Molfetta said. “He’s just a very good dude.”
Jurors deliberated for about 4 several hours right before reaching verdicts, Molfetta reported.
The taking pictures took place at about 7:20 a.m. Jan. 12, 2018, in the 2100 block of South Orange Avenue in Santa Ana.
Molfetta argued his consumer acted in self-protection.
Trujillo had an ongoing conflict with Christian Cuellar about the placement of trash cans and parking, Deputy District Legal professional Neal Albright claimed in court docket papers.
Cuellar lived with his mom in the entrance residence at 2114 S. Orange Ave. and the defendant lived in a again dwelling at 2116 S. Orange Ave., Albright stated.
Trujillo was having prepared to travel with his girlfriend and two small children to university when the two bought into a conflict above a trash can, Albright reported.
Trujillo grabbed a hatchet and swung it at Cuellar, breaking his elbow, and then went into his house, emerged with an AK-47 and shot Cuellar in the leg, Albright said. Trujillo purchased his girlfriend and the two little ones out of the automobile and drove absent, Albright reported.
Trujillo informed law enforcement that his neighbor experienced earlier touted an association with a street gang and had threatened him, Albright mentioned. He also claimed that a week previously, Cuellar waved a gun at him and on that morning had manufactured a motion with his hand miming a gun pointing at the defendant, Albright said.
Molfetta explained his shopper purposely shot Cuellar in the leg to avoid killing him.
“He purposely set 1 in his leg to quit him from advancing,” Molfetta stated.
Cuellar “is a full waste of human skin. He was just a bad guy, harassing my guy,” Molfetta said.
In the previous he “threw a knife at my client, showed a gun to my shopper,” Molfetta stated. “And he threatened to shoot his children with a motion of his hand.”
The protection legal professional explained just one of the law enforcement investigators testified throughout the demo that he had under no circumstances listened to about the allegation of gang affiliation for the alleged target.
“Law enforcement did completely absolutely nothing to seem into if this child was in MS-13,” Molfetta claimed. “They made a determination at the time and their narrative hardly ever swayed.”
Molfetta questioned Cuellar about a tattoo on his arm that read “La Vida Loco,” he explained.
“He said he just likes Ricky Martin,” Molfetta reported. “I stated identify a further tune of his and he could not do it … The verdict speaks for itself.”
Trujillo was “incredibly, pretty emotional” when the verdict was announced, Molfetta stated.
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