Modesto business owner convicted of murder in shooting death of homeless man
A Modesto business owner was convicted of second-degree murder Friday afternoon in the shooting death of a homeless man behind his store in March 2019.
Jeremy Don Fennell, owner of Sin Cal Industries, a body piercing and tattoo business on McHenry Avenue, also was found guilty of an enhancement for using a gun during the commission of a crime.
The 38-year-old Fennell is expected to be sentenced in February. The murder charge carries a sentence of 15 years to life, and he could face additional time for the gun enhancement.
The verdicts read in Stanislaus County Superior Court concluded a roughly month-long case in which Fennell’s attorney claimed his client was acting in self-defense in the shooting death of 25-year-old Lawrence Walker following a brief encounter behind the business at 3117 McHenry Ave.
During the case, Chief Deputy District Attorney Jeff Laugero told jurors Fennell couldn’t have acted in self-defense because he was the initial aggressor and continued to be aggressive toward Walker after words were exchanged between the parties.
The prosecution and the defense gave their closing arguments Wednesday and Thursday. The case went to jurors just before noon Thursday.
The incident that led to the shooting started when Fennell and his wife arrived at the business around noon on March 15, 2019, when Walker and his wife, Jessica Estrada, were sitting on a sidewalk in the back.
Fennell pulled into the parking stall directly in front of where Walker was seated. He got a gun – for which he had a permit to conceal carry – from his glove compartment, approached them and talked to them about leaving.
Testimony of the events that ensued varied. It was captured on a security camera but there was no audio.
Verbal exchange before shooting near Modesto business
There were profanity-laced words exchanged between both parties, according to testimony.
Laugero argued that any reasonable business owner would have walked into his store and called police. Fennell, meanwhile, said on the witness stand he felt threatened, and that Walker came at him.
Fennell said he worried Walker might have had a knife and that he lunged at him right before he fired his gun. But Laugero said Fennell never told police those things or articulated any verbal threats made by Walker.
Laugero said Fennell’s justification for shooting Walker in the heart were unreasonable; he created a danger in his own mind based on his stereotype – portrayed on his social media account and in conversations – of homeless people with drug addictions, not anything that happened that day.
Laugero also argued that Fennell’s hatred of homeless people made the murder premeditated but the jury did not agree.
Fennell’s attorney, Kirk McAllister, argued for self-defense, and worked to discredit the victim and his wife.
He pointed to testimony by a clinical psychologist who specializes in police and forensic psychology who said Fennell experienced many of the same “human factors” that police officers experience in use of force situations like tunnel vision, dry mouth and time distortion.
He ended his closing arguments by saying, “What ills do you think are going to happen when Mr. Walker advances (on Fennell)? Is he going to shake his hand? Is he going to give him some Girl Scout cookies? No! He’s going to beat him to a pulp and then take his weapon.”
That a homicide occurred was never in doubt.
McAllister and Laugero did not immediately respond to emails and phone calls seeking comment.
Jurors in Judge Linda McFadden’s courtroom had a choice of the type of homicide he committed; whether it was in self-defense and therefore justified; an act of deliberate, premeditated murder; or something in between.
Jurors confirmed their decision one-by-one when they were polled after the verdict was read just before 4:30 p.m.
Police initially arrested Fennell on suspicion of murder several hours after the shooting. But prosecutors later declined to file charges against Fennell, saying they wanted to conduct further investigation. Five months after the shooting, prosecutors filed the murder charge.
He has remained in custody with a bail of $3 million ever since.
This story was originally published December 18, 2020 at 8:00 PM.
