Shootout in Merced described in case of judge’s son accused of murder in Turlock

Kevin William Mayhew’s intent, or lack thereof, when he shot Juy Anthony Gastelo was the focus of a preliminary hearing in the Turlock man’s murder case this week. And law enforcement officers in Merced described a shootout with the defendant after he led authorities investigating the Oct. 31, 2016 shooting into Merced County the following March.

Mayhew says he couldn’t have known that someone would break into his Turlock home on the afternoon of Oct. 31, 2016. He argued in court Friday that he didn’t know the intruder he shot.

“The expectation of security in my own locked house is a right we all have,” Mayhew told a Stanislaus Superior Court judge.

Mayhew, 42, is charged with murder in the shooting of Juy Anthony Gastelo, 30, who was found with six gunshot wounds, three of them in his back, in Mayhew’s back yard.

Deputy District Attorney Michael Houston says Mayhew was hiding behind a box as he sat on a living room couch, armed with a handgun and two knives.

“He’s sitting here, waiting for anybody,” the prosecutor said while pointing to a photo of Mayhew’s cluttered living room. “Unfortunately for Juy Gastelo, it happened to be him.”

Judge Robert Westbrook has to decide whether there’s enough evidence for Mayhew to stand trial. The judge said he will issue his ruling on Tuesday.

Mayhew — the son of retired Stanislaus County Judge William Mayhew — has chosen to act as his own attorney in the preliminary hearing. Defense attorney John Hillenbrand has assisted Mayhew.

The case against Mayhew also includes accusations that he tried to kill three law enforcement officials, when a 44-mile police chase ended in Merced County. The chase began in Turlock as authorities investigating Gastelo’s death searched Mayhew’s home.

The deadly shooting occurred at Mayhew’s home on North Thor Street in Turlock. Mayhew told investigators he had been living at his parents’ home, about two miles away, and using the Thor Street home as storage space.

Crime scene photos show numerous items strewn about the home. The prosecutor argued that the inside of the home was “huge mess,” except for Mayhew’s spot on the couch on the afternoon of the shooting.

Mayhew told investigators that he was asleep and awoke to a noise from a kitchen window at the back of the house. He then saw Gastelo holding a knife and standing several feet from him. Mayhew told investigators he fired two shots at Gastelo. The defendant said he followed Gastelo, who was retreating, as he fired a few other shots at the man.

Staged evidence?

Turlock Police Detective Jason Tosta has testified that he believed a knife found in the kitchen was placed there by someone who wanted to manipulate or alter the crime scene.

“To be honest, to me it appeared staged,” Tosta said on the witness stand Thursday. “It looked like (the knife) just landed perfectly on top of the CD case.”

The only DNA found on the knife was Mayhew’s, Tosta said.

The prosecutor told the judge that Mayhew was “pissed” someone burglarized his home a few days earlier. Houston argued that Mayhew remotely erased data on his cell phone, because he didn’t want law enforcement to see he wrote text messages, telling others that he was going to kill any intruders he found in his house.

“So, this is his state of mind. This is his intent,” Houston said.

On Oct. 25, 2016, Mayhew reported his Thor Street home had been burglarized of items including 15 rifles, three handguns and a shotgun. None of the guns had actually been stolen; all were recovered, most of them from his vehicle following the shootout in Merced County, according to a filed arrest affidavit.

In response to the reported Oct. 25, 2016, burglary Mayhew said on Facebook “Now, I have to hunt them down and eliminate the bastard or bastards,” according to Tosta.

Merced County shootout

Mayhew also faces three counts of attempted murder and evading police in connection with the March 2017 police pursuit. Mayhew is accused of shooting at two Merced County sheriff’s deputies and nearly running over a Merced police officer.

The police officer was deploying spike strips to disable Mayhew’s car, a brown 2002 Lincoln sedan, on Snelling Road.

Deputy Derek Bethel was new to his department and paired with a field training officer, Deputy Jesus Meraz, that night.

Bethel testified that he saw what appeared to be an AR-15 assault rifle come of Mayhew’s car. Bethel, who had been driving, was standing behind the opened driver’s door when he saw the rifle sweep up. Then, he heard shots fired.

Bethel returned fire.

The sheriff’s vehicle was hit by three bullets. One went through the hood and another hit the lower front bumper.

The third bullet went through the windshield and into the driver’s seat headrest.

Meraz testified that he saw the rifle’s barrel aim out of the brown car, then shots were fired in his direction. Meraz then returned fire. He said he was afraid for himself and Bethel. He remembered the bullet hitting the windshield.

“When that happened, a piece of glass hit my face,” Meraz said. “I thought I had been shot.”

During cross examination by Mayhew, Bethel said it was dark that night, but he could see Mayhew’s car clearly, illuminated by vehicle headlights.

Six law enforcement officials returned fire. After Mayhew was struck by gunfire, he threw the rifle out of the car and raised his hands to surrender. Bethel said he was still afraid, even after Mayhew dropped his gun and one of the other law enforcement officials called for a ceasefire.

“A few seconds went by, you called for help, for someone to come get you,” Bethel said while answering Mayhew’s questions in court.

Mayhew suffered a gunshot wound and was later treated at a Modesto hospital. No law enforcement officials were injured.

This story was originally published March 22, 2019 at 5:26 PM.