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Alleged Newhall Gang Member Faces Witnesses In Stabbing Murder

A man charged with murder in a gang-related stabbing is hearing testimony from those who claim to be there for the events leading up to Franco Olea’s stabbing death.


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“We’re putting some witnesses on (Tuesday) and some on Friday,” said Taly Peretz, deputy district attorney for Los Angeles County. “We’re still in the middle of the evidentiary hearing.”

The stabbing was gang-related, according to prosecutors with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, who allege that Olea and the man they have charged with the Dec. 1 murder, 21-year-old Cesar Navarro, are in rival gangs. Both men have Newhall addresses.

“It’s a single count of murder, and it looks like two special allegations, the first is personal use of a deadly and dangerous weapon, a kinfe — the second is a gang allegation,” said Shiara Davila-Morales, spokeswoman for the District Attorney’s Office.

“It’s further alleged that according to penal section 186 that the above offense was committed for the benefit of, at the direction of, and in association with, a criminal street gang with the specific intent to promote, further and assist in criminal conduct by gang members.”

Olea, 28, who was believed to be a member of Newhall 13, which law enforcement unofficially refers to as the SCV’s only generational gang, was responding to a car alarm when Navarro came out and stabbed him, after an altercation, according to detectives.

The murder charge includes a special implication that alleges the crime was committed in the furtherance of criminal gang activity.

Navarro is facing a maximum sentence of life in prison, according to an official with the District Attorney’s Office.

Navarro is an alleged member of the All Out Bombers. according to officials.

Initial witnesses stated they heard a car’s alarm activate on the street, according to Lt. John Corina of the Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Bureau.

When they went outside, the witnesses saw the victim fighting with another Hispanic male in the driveway of the residence. The suspect appeared to stab the victim and then left the location in an unknown direction.

“It appears to be gang-related,” said Lt. John Corina of the Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Bureau, who investigated the crime. “They got into a verbal argument that resulted in a fight, and then the suspect stabbed the victim.”

Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Bureau detectives responded to the report of a stabbing on the 22800 block of 15th Street in Newhall to investigate the circumstances surrounding the stabbing, said Sgt. Rich Pena Sheriff’s Department.

After the stabbing, Olea was taken to Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital, where he died at 2:21 a.m. on Dec. 2.

Navarro is being held in lieu of $1,070,000 bail at the Pitchess Detention Center.

He is due back in court on Friday.

 


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Alleged Newhall Gang Member Faces Witnesses In Stabbing Murder

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About Perry Smith

Perry Smith is a print and broadcast journalist who has won several awards for his focused, hyperlocal community coverage in several different regions of the country. In addition to five years of experience covering the Santa Clarita Valley, Smith, a San Fernando Valley native, has worked in newspapers and news websites in Los Angeles, the Northwest, the Central Valley and the South, before coming to KHTS in 2012. To contact Smith, email him at Perry@hometownstation.com.