Survivor of deadly Modesto shooting told detective he sensed trouble

A man who survived a shooting during a botched drug deal in north Modesto told a detective that he could tell the deal was going bad moments before gunfire erupted, according to the detective’s testimony.

The 19-year-old Riverbank man was with Damian Villavicencio about 5:30 p.m. Dec. 11, 2013, when both were shot behind the Velvet Grill & Creamery restaurant on McHenry Avenue.

Villavicencio was shot in the back and died from blood loss, according to a forensic pathologist. The only bullet that struck him ripped through part of his left lung before exiting through his chest.

Lamar Oldham and Isaiah Stafford are charged with murder in the shooting of Villavicencio, also of Riverbank.

Luisa Riley, Stafford’s then-girlfriend, is the third defendant charged with murder in the shooting death. She is being prosecuted separately and has been released on her own recognizance. The three defendants also face charges of attempted murder and attempted robbery in connection with the shooting.

The defendants’ preliminary hearing continued Thursday with testimony from Modesto police Detective Sean Martin. He questioned the man who survived the shooting.

The Riverbank men were in a Chevrolet Corsica and pulled into the parking lot behind the Velvet Grill. They were there to sell marijuana to Stafford, who got in the back seat of the car, Martin said. Stafford was sitting directly behind Villavicencio, who was in the front passenger seat.

Martin testified that there’s no evidence Stafford, while in the car, ever ordered the two other men to hand over the marijuana or made any demands at gunpoint. Villavicencio’s partner said there was no dispute over the marijuana in the car, but he had a feeling something was wrong.

He told the detective he tried to drive away, but he wasn’t sure if he put the car in drive or reverse. “He did sound confused about what had occurred,” the detective said on the witness stand.

Villavicencio’s partner told the detective that Stafford fell out of the car and started firing a gun. Riley told one investigator that Stafford fired only one shot after he fell out of the car, but later told another investigator that Stafford fired one shot as he fell, then fired two more shots.

She told police the two men in the car were acting nervous when Stafford was in the back seat, then Oldham started creeping toward the car. “That’s when everything got crazy,” Riley told investigators.

The car hit a curb and got stuck. Martin testified that the car’s driver crawled out through the front passenger window, following Villavicencio and never losing sight of him.

Riley told police that as Stafford fired the third shot, Oldham fired his gun. She said Oldham fired seven or eight shots, the first four of them into the air. She said she didn’t see in which direction he fired the other shots because she was running away.

She said Stafford never gave Oldham a second gun during the shooting, which contradicts what Stafford told police.

Martin testified that there’s no evidence indicating the victims had guns or were carrying other weapons that night, but they were not tested for gunshot residue. The detective said the defendants were tested for gunshot residue, but those testing samples were not sent to a lab to be analyzed.

Testimony in the hearing is expected to continue Feb. 17 in Stanislaus Superior Court. At the conclusion of the hearing, the judge will determine whether there is enough evidence for the defendants to stand trial.

This story was originally published January 29, 2015 at 5:22 PM with the headline "Survivor of deadly Modesto shooting told detective he sensed trouble."