A Newhall gang member charged with a 2012 stabbing murder took a plea deal and was sentenced Tuesday, officials said.
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Cesar Navarro, 23, pleaded no contest to involuntary manslaughter, attempted murder and assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury, according to officials with the District Attorney’s Office.
He was sentenced to 30 years Tuesday when his plea was entered. Navarro will have to serve 85 percent of his sentence in order to be eligible for parole, due to California sentencing laws.
He additionally admitted to an allegation that his crimes were in furtherance of gang activity. The deputies who investigated the charges believe the murder was connected to a gang rivalry.
All three of his offenses count as “strikes,” or violent crimes, on his record.
Judge Hayden Zacky found there was sufficient proof to justify the charges that Navarro stabbed Olea, 28, of Newhall, to death outside of Olea’s home in July 2013.
Initial witnesses stated they heard a car’s alarm activate Dec. 2, 2012, on the street that Olea lived on, according to Lt. John Corina of the Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Bureau.
When they went outside, the witnesses saw the Navarro fighting with another Hispanic male in the driveway of the residence.
The suspect appeared to stab Olea and then leave the location in an unknown direction.
In a field interview with the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station, Navarro allegedly admitted to being a member of the AOBs. A police field interview card revealed that Navarro, also known as Speedy, has an AOB tattoo on his upper left chest.
The AOBs and the Newhall 13 gangs have turf that overlaps in the Newhall area. Their rivalry resulted from a failed merger that took place more a year and half ago. Personal quarrels prevented the merger from taking place, according to Burrows.
There are fights on a daily basis between the AOBs and the Newhall 13 that often go unreported, he said.
One of these altercations in December is what led to Olea’s death, he added.
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.
Burrow confirmed that there have been more than 120 members active in the AOBs since their beginnings.
The AOBs’ primary activities include robbery, assault, vandalism, auto theft and selling narcotics.
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