15-year-old charged with first-degree murder

A 15-year-old Yuba City boy, charged as an adult in the shooting death of a boy his own age, was arraigned Wednesday in Sutter County Superior Court on a first-degree murder charge.

David Guadalupe Rojo is facing a 25-years-to-life sentence if convicted in the Labor Day death of Francisco Prior at a busy intersection in the Bridge Street shopping area in west Yuba City.

Monday’s drive-by shooting was the third fatal gang-related shooting within two months on a stretch of Bridge Street.
Mayor Rory Ramirez on Wednesday said the city is looking for $500,000 in its budget to fund more officers and patrol cars to help fight the gangs problem.

At the arraignment, David Guadalupe Rojo entered a not-guilty plea, as did co-defendants Jorge Luis Lopez, 19, of Olivehurst, and Armando Guadalupe Rojo, 18, of Yuba City, who are facing the same charge. The Rojos are brothers.

District Attorney Carl Adams declined comment on the case. But a criminal complaint filed by his office includes a special allegation that the younger Rojo “is alleged to have personally used a firearm” during the crime. If committed by an adult, the crime would be punishable by death or life in prison, the complaint said.

The three are each being held on $1.5 million bail, said Fred Schroeder, assistant district attorney.

Judge Chris Chandler appointed public defenders for all three and scheduled a Sept. 12 preliminary hearing.

Penalty enhancements for gang activity and causing great bodily injury with a gun were added to the first-degree murder charge.

Prior, 15, a Yuba City High School student, was shot in the head about 11:50 a.m. Monday at Bridge Street and West Onstott Frontage Road while riding in a van. Two other people in the van were not hit.

Although three fatal gang-related shootings have occurred along a six-block section of Bridge Street since July 12, Yuba City Police Chief Richard Doscher said he does not think gang members are cruising the area in search of targets.

“I am limited in discussing a great deal about the circumstances of these incidents as the cases are still very active; however, I would say the area of the criminal acts was opportunistic rather than targeted,” Doscher said.

Doscher earlier this week reacted angrily to Appeal-Democrat readers’ comments suggesting the Police Department is not doing enough to quell gang violence.

Posting his own comment on the newspaper’s Web site, Doscher said members of his department “do one hell of a job under the most difficult of situations. I’m proud to be associated with them for over 30 years. If anybody else would like to take a shot, go ahead, I’m done,” he said referring to the comments.

“This is our city, too. We raise our families here and desire the best,” he wrote.

The Police Department coordinates a regional gang enforcement team responsible for hundreds of gang-related arrests, the chief said.
Asked in an interview if he has enough officers to fight drive-by shootings, Doscher said he has “as much as the budget will allow, plus the authorization from the city manager to utilize any and all overtime to the extent required to address these issues.”

The department had “a normal complement” of officers working the day of the shooting, plus added staff for increased traffic and service calls on the holiday, he said.

Doscher credited help from witnesses in solving recent drive-by shootings. In Monday’s crime, a witness followed the defendants’ car, aiding in their arrest about 17 hours after the shooting, police said.

Ramirez said Wednesday he is asking City Manager Steve Jepsen to try and find $500,000 annually in the budget to put six more officers and three more patrol cars on the street.

But Ramirez added there is no “silver bullet” that will solve what he called a social problem not specific to Yuba City.

“We continue to look for answers and make efforts to minimize and manage the problem,” he said. “It’s a long-term commitment that will take years and years.”

“The other side of the equation is, will we bankrupt the city dealing with this issue?” Ramirez said.

Contact Appeal-Democrat reporter Rob Young at 749-4710 or at ryoung@appealdemocrat.com.