Prosecutor tells jury of shy, small kid stabbed to death at Modesto park

A prosecutor told a jury Thursday that Tylor Crippen should have been able to kiss his girlfriend at his neighborhood park without being harmed. But he never made it out of the Modesto park that night, Jan. 29, 2013.

“Because they killed him,” Deputy District Attorney Marlisa Ferreira said in court while pointing to the three young men accused of murder in Crippen’s stabbing. “They killed him for his cellphone.”

The prosecutor gave her closing argument to the jury Thursday afternoon. The defense attorneys will have their opportunity to present their closing arguments when the trial resumes Monday.

Jacob Segura, Taylor Koplen and Juan Garcia are charged with murder in Crippen’s death. The 18-year-old man was stabbed at Creekwood Park, just west of Claus Road and Johansen High School.

Ferreira called the attack on Crippen unprovoked. She described him as standing 5 feet 2 inches tall and weighing about 130 pounds. She said he was a shy kid who was overpowered by his attackers.

“His stature was tiny,” the prosecutor said about Crippen. On the other hand, the smallest of the three defendants, Garcia, stood 5 inches taller than Crippen. Ferreira said Koplen, who is believed to have stabbed Crippen, was 9 inches taller and 55 pounds heavier than his victim.

“He was truly a vulnerable victim because he didn’t stand a chance, ladies and gentlemen,” the prosecutor told the jurors.

Brittany Waldo, Crippen’s girlfriend, has testified that three males approached them as the couple were kissing. The one with a long ponytail asked the couple if they had any cigarettes, she said. The couple said no, that they didn’t smoke. Then, the long-haired man punched Crippen in his back, his girlfriend testified.

Waldo told the jury that her boyfriend ran into the street in a zigzag motion to get away from his attacker, then the other two males started chasing her boyfriend. She said the long-haired man stayed with her and brandished a knife, demanding her belongings.

As he ran away, Crippen yelled at the trio to leave his girlfriend alone. Crippen tried to escape into the park, but they continued to chase him, according to the testimony.

The prosecutor argued that Crippen was trying to lure the attackers away from his girlfriend.

The prosecution doesn’t believe Segura and Garcia stabbed Crippen, but Ferreira argued that they are just as responsible for the slaying. She told the jury that the three defendants were working together.

Waldo testified that she heard one of the two people chasing her boyfriend yell out that they were going to cut off his genitals. The knife-wielding man told Waldo to stay near the bus stop shortly before he joined the chase into the park.

Ferreira argued that the threat was a reference to the knife-wielding man, who was still with Waldo. “It’s all part of the same course of conduct. There may be three people, but it’s all one act.”

The defendants also face charges of robbery and two counts of attempted robbery, along with enhancements of committing crimes for the benefit of the Norteño street gang.

The judge on Thursday instructed the jury, saying it can choose to convict the defendants of the less serious charge of theft or attempted theft if they decide the evidence doesn’t support charges of robbery and attempted robbery.

The robbery charge stems from a confrontation with Alex Salazar. The prosecutor told the jury that Salazar was attacked by the defendants shortly before 8:30 p.m. Jan. 29, 2013, at Creekwood Park. She said they took Salazar’s cellphone and pocket knife; police later found Salazar’s phone at Koplen’s home.

Several minutes after the Salazar robbery, Koplen used Salazar’s knife to stab Crippen at the same park, Ferreira said in court. Crippen was stabbed three times in the chest and abdomen, and he bled to death. A forensic pathologist has testified that one stab wound struck Crippen’s heart and another his liver, leading to a painful death.

The prosecutor pointed out that Crippen also was found bleeding from his nose, and he had bruising on the side of his nose. She argued that while Koplen stabbed Crippen, the two other defendants punched him in the face.

Ferreira told the jury it’s clear the three defendants were responsible for Crippen’s death. Traces of Crippen’s blood were found on Garcia’s right shoe and on Koplen’s hands and pants. The prosecutor said other witnesses spotted the three defendants together at the park minutes before the attack on Crippen.

This story was originally published November 6, 2014 at 6:06 PM with the headline "Prosecutor tells jury of shy, small kid stabbed to death at Modesto park."