Man who shot suspected thief in Turlock found guilty of involuntary manslaughter

A Turlock man who shot a suspected thief in the back was found guilty Friday of involuntary manslaughter.

A jury also found Robin Duane Boyer guilty of an enhancement for using a gun and two counts of assault with a firearm, also with gun-use enhancements. But he was acquitted of more serious charges of second-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter.

In response to the verdict, prosecutor John R. Mayne said, “All we can ask is that a jury pays attention to the case as presented and comes to the verdict they believe was supported by the evidence. It was clear to me that the jury was very attentive and tried very hard to apply the law to the facts as they found them. I respect the jury’s decision.”

Boyer shot Brandon Pacheco in the back with a shotgun in July 2013 at Boyer’s family property in the 1100 block of Dianne Drive in Turlock, just south of Fulkerth Road and west of Highway 99. Boyer was arrested eight months later.

There were two homes on the Boyer property, one in which he and his wife lived and the other in which his mother lived. The Boyer family testified that the homes had repeatedly been burglarized, including the day before the shooting when they found Pacheco on the property after arriving home from Boyer’s father’s funeral.

When Boyer spotted Pacheco on the property again the following day, the defendant grabbed his shotgun and his cellphone to call police.

Boyer testified during the trial that he initially fired the shotgun into the ground, then he fired with the intent for the pellets to go above Pacheco’s head, to get him to stop. Boyer said he didn’t intentionally fire the shot that killed Pacheco.

Mayne argued in court that Pacheco was stealing from the Boyer property, but that people aren’t entitled to shoot thieves not threatening someone’s life.

Boyer is scheduled to be sentenced March 8. He faces a maximum prison sentence of 14 years. Mayne said he must serve at least 85 percent of the sentence because the crime is a violent felony.

This story was originally published February 3, 2017 at 3:06 PM with the headline "Man who shot suspected thief in Turlock found guilty of involuntary manslaughter."