Prison for 2 in deadly Modesto shooting; third defendant still faces trial

Two suspects in a deadly 2013 shooting during an alleged marijuana theft at a Modesto home reached plea deals; the third appeared in court Thursday.

Aureliano Vivero and Pablo Mora have each agreed to plea deals to avoid a trial in the shooting of 22-year-old Emmanuel Andrade. Rojelio Vivero, 38, still faces trial on charges of murder and attempted robbery in Andrade’s death.

Deputy District Attorney John R. Mayne said Aureliano Vivero was convicted of murder, along with an enhancement for participating in a crime in which someone else was armed with a gun. Prosecutors agreed to drop an attempted robbery charge in exchange for his plea. Aureliano Vivero, 22, was sentenced to 16 years to life in prison.

Mora, 23, was convicted of voluntary manslaughter, attempted robbery, burglary and recklessly evading police, according to Mayne. Mora was sentenced to 15 years and eight months in prison, and will have to serve 85 percent of that sentence before he can become eligible for parole.

Rojelio Vivero appeared in court Thursday.

The shooting occurred about 9:10 a.m. Nov. 23, 2013, at a single-story house in the 2300 block of Park Faith Lane, a few blocks north of West Whitmore Avenue in south Modesto. Andrade was from Greenfield, south of Salinas, but had relatives at the home.

Authorities say intruders tried to force their way inside the south Modesto home, and one of them shot through a door, fatally wounding Andrade. Police chased three people in a BMW into west Modesto, where the suspects eventually were captured after a crash on Sutter Avenue.

The defendants, all from Stockton, have remained in custody at the county jail since then.

In an August 2015 preliminary hearing, Modesto police Sgt. Thomas Moffett testified that a few dozen marijuana plants were found in three rooms of the Park Faith Lane house.

The plants were part of a sophisticated operation running on electricity stolen from the Turlock Irrigation District. Moffett said the operation was capable of producing $32,000 in bulk sales after each three-month growing cycle. He said the number of plants shows the marijuana was grown for sale, not personal use.

Investigators believe Rojelio and Aureliano Vivero chased Daniel Andrade, the victim’s cousin, into the home’s garage. Modesto police Detective Gary Guffey testified in the preliminary hearing that he questioned Rojelio Vivero, who said he kicked in the door and fired the gun.

The prosecutor said Mora was the driver waiting in the getaway car.

In last year’s hearing, Martin Baker, Aureliano Vivero’s attorney, argued that there was no evidence his client aided in a robbery. Baker told the judge there was no cash found in the home and the plants couldn’t easily be taken.

On Thursday morning, Stanislaus Superior Court Judge Thomas Zeff postponed the Oct. 3 trial for Rojelio Vivero, because his attorney is in the middle of a lengthy preliminary hearing that could continue for another several weeks. The defendant will be back in court Oct. 21, so the judge can reschedule his trial.

This story was originally published September 8, 2016 at 4:07 PM with the headline "Prison for 2 in deadly Modesto shooting; third defendant still faces trial."