‘I lost my son all over again.’ Murder victim’s mom worries shooter will be set free

Michelle Bettencourt is worried the man who killed her son will be set free after serving only a few years in prison for a deadly botched carjacking outside a Riverbank convenience store.

Turlock Diaz was sentenced to serve 52 years and six months to life in prison for the death of 21-year-old Chaz Bettencourt. Prosecutors said Diaz shot Bettencourt twice in the chest at close range when he refused to comply with the robbers’ demands.

A state appellate court ruling has reversed Diaz’s conviction and sentence, because he was 14 years old when he killed Bettencourt. The three-judge panel from the state’s Fifth District Court of Appeals sent Diaz’s case to Stanislaus Superior Court to determine even if Diaz should have been prosecuted as an adult.

The victim’s mother said learning about the appellate court’s decision is like re-opening wounds, very similar to what she had to endure while listening to details about her son’s death during the murder trial.

“It rips your heart out,” she told The Modesto Bee during an interview Monday. “It re-victimizes you... I feel like I lost my son all over again.”

State law has changed since Diaz was sentenced in March 2015. Proposition 57, a ballot measure approved by California voters in November 2016, shifted to the court the authority to decide if a minor could be prosecuted as an adult. Before that, prosecutors had the discretion to decide whether a child should be prosecuted as an adult.

Now, a juvenile court judge in Stanislaus County must review Diaz’s case and decide if Diaz should be prosecuted as an adult.

A hearing in juvenile court for Diaz is scheduled Jan. 9. Michelle Bettencourt said she plans to attend the hearing and speak on behalf of her son.

“I’m Chaz’s voice and I will fight with a vengeance,” the mother said. “I’m not going to give up.”

If the judge decides that Diaz should face his charges as an adult, his conviction and sentence in the Bettencourt murder case will be upheld, according to the appellate court ruling. Diaz then would be ordered to continue serving his prison sentence.

Diaz was one of three teenagers charged in Bettencourt’s death: Diaz, Daniel Pantoja and Jah-Kari Phyall. Pantoja was 18 when Bettencourt was killed, and Phyall was 15. Like Diaz, Phyall was prosecuted as an adult.

In October 2013, a jury found Diaz and Pantoja guilty of first-degree murder and attempted carjacking for their roles in the deadly shooting in front of the AM-PM minimart at Patterson and Oakdale roads. Pantoja was sentenced 27 years six months to life in prison.

The jury, however, acquitted Phyall of all charges related to the shooting. The jurors determined Phyall, who was with Diaz and Pantoja during the attempted carjacking, was not responsible for the crimes.

Pantoja, now 26, on Monday remained incarcerated at California Correctional Institution, a prison in Tehachapi. He will become eligible for parole in July 2034.

Diaz, now 23, on Monday remained incarcerated in Salinas Valley State Prison. He will become eligible for parole in September 2034, unless the juvenile court judge decides he should have been prosecuted as a minor.

The March 20 appellate court ruling was authored by Justice Jennifer Detjen and concurred by justices Charles Poochigian and Rosendo Peña. The ruling directs the court to treat Diaz’s case as the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s had originally filed a petition to prosecute him as an adult.

It’s somewhat unclear what could happen if the juvenile court judge decides Diaz should not have been prosecuted as an adult. The appellate ruling dictates that the juvenile court should treat Diaz’s convictions as “juvenile adjudications” and exercise its own discretion and impose an “appropriate disposition.”

The juvenile court also should give Diaz an opportunity to submit information that could be considered before Diaz is re-sentenced, according to the appellate ruling.

The deadly shooting occurred about 12:40 a.m. Aug. 5, 2010, Bettencourt and friend David Gomez were leaving the mini-mart when they were accosted at gunpoint. Authorities said the defendants were trying to steal Gomez’s car when Bettencourt was shot.

During the 2015 sentencing hearing, Tom Brennan — then a deputy district attorney prosecuting the three teens — called Bettencourt’s slaying an “execution.,” and Diaz was “nothing short of a natural born killer.”

Martin Baker, Diaz’s attorney, told the judge at the sentencing hearing that his client was heavily intoxicated when the shooting occurred. He argued at trial that Diaz was under the influence of a canned drink, a potent mixture of alcohol and energy stimulants, that could have resulted in “increased impulsivity” the night of the shooting.

In the trial, Phyall testified that Pantoja initially had the gun and used it to rob an ice cream vendor several hours before the attempted carjacking. He said Pantoja later suggested they rob two elderly women, but the two other defendants refused. Pantoja later handed the gun to Diaz, who showed interest in the loaded weapon, Phyall said.

Michelle Bettencourt said she’s been told Diaz could be sentenced by a juvenile court judge to be transferred to a state youth prison facility and be released when he’s 25.

She said she’s also been told that Senate Bill 1391 — signed into law by Gov. Jerry brown in September — would eliminate the ability of the District Attorney’s Office to petition to prosecute Diaz as an adult. The law goes into a effect next month and is part of a movement to keep children out of jail and emphasize rehabilitation for minors.

It’s unclear whether the juvenile court judge will consider SB 1391 while determining Diaz’s fate. His victim’s mother believes the law sends a message to young people that they can commit a horrific crime and hide behind SB 1391.

“That’s wrong,” the mother told The Bee. “You’re sending out the wrong message, when you signed that bill.”

This story was originally published December 17, 2018 at 9:08 PM.