Defendant sentenced in deadly Modesto gangland shooting

A 21-year-old man on Friday was sentenced to 28 years to life in prison for the deadly shooting of a teenager targeted because he was a member of a rival gang.

Guillermo Rivera Jr. shot Juvenal Rodriguez, 19, in broad daylight four years ago in Modesto’s airport neighborhood. Rivera agreed to a plea deal with prosecutors to avoid a trial.

Rivera pleaded guilty to murder, attempted manslaughter and participating in a criminal street gang. His co-defendants, Raul Sanchez and his sister Alessandra Sanchez, also agreed to plea deals, and they were sentenced June 17.

Raul Sanchez pleaded no contest to manslaughter and was sentenced to three years in prison for his role in the deadly confrontation. Charges of attempted murder and gang participation against him were dropped. He and Rivera were minors when the shooting occurred but were prosecuted as adults.

Alessandra Sanchez pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor: trying to dissuade a victim or witness from speaking to authorities. She was sentenced to a year in jail. A felony gang participation charge against her was dropped.

The shooting occurred about 11:30 a.m. Jan. 21, 2011. Rodriguez of Modesto and a friend were walking in the 1400 block of Monterey Avenue near Orville Wright Elementary School when they were confronted by the defendants.

Investigators say Rivera and Raul Sanchez were in a car when they spotted Rodriguez. Modesto police Detective Ra Pouv, a gang investigator, testified in a 2012 preliminary hearing that Rodriguez was a Sureño gang member walking in a neighborhood considered to be rival Norteño gang turf.

The detective said in court that Rivera was a Norteño who felt disrespected seeing an enemy in his neighborhood. Authorities say Rivera and Sanchez got out of the car, and Rivera fired a gun. Rodriguez was struck and killed, and his friend escaped uninjured.

Pouv testified that Alessandra Sanchez, who was Rivera’s girlfriend at the time, was in the car when the shooting occurred and threatened Rodriguez’s friend to prevent him from talking to police about the shooting. The detective said the three defendants are Norteño gang members.

The court gives victims’ families and friends an opportunity to speak in court about the impact of their deaths before a defendant is formally sentenced. No relatives or friends of Rodriguez attended Friday morning’s sentencing hearing to speak on behalf of the young man who died.

This story was originally published August 7, 2015 at 3:53 PM with the headline "Defendant sentenced in deadly Modesto gangland shooting."