EX-CON SOUGHT IN SLAYING WANTED MAN FACES MURDER CHARGES IN LANCASTER KILLING.Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer LANCASTER - Less than a year after being put behind bars Verb 1. put behind bars - lock up or confine, in or as in a jail; "The suspects were imprisoned without trial"; "the murderer was incarcerated for the rest of his life" gaol, immure, imprison, incarcerate, jail, jug, lag, remand, put away in connection with two drive-by shootings, a reputed gang member is being sought in the slaying of an acquaintance during an argument at a downtown home. Byron Matheu, 25, who was sentenced last April to a year in jail after pleading no contest to assault with a firearm firearm, device consisting essentially of a straight tube to propel shot, shell, or bullets by the explosion of gunpowder. Although the Chinese discovered gunpowder as early as the 9th cent., they did not develop firearms until the mid-14th cent. , is wanted on suspicion of murdering Arthur Raymond Morua, who was shot to death on Feb. 17 in the 44700 block of Elm Avenue. ``It's not related to any other case,'' homicide Sgt. Randy Seymour said of Morua's death. ``The only similarity is Byron is a violent guy and this is a continuation of a violent lifestyle.'' He added: ``It was an argument with the victim, and Byron took exception to the argument. The argument turned into a fistfight, Byron took out a gun and shot and killed the victim.'' Matheu, an ex-convict with a 1999 conviction of being a felon An individual who commits a crime of a serious nature, such as Burglary or murder. A person who commits a felony. felon n. a person who has been convicted of a felony, which is a crime punishable by death or a term in state or federal prison. in possession of a firearm, has been charged with murder in the slaying along with Rafael Espinoza, 25, of Palmdale and Richard Garcia
Espinoza and Garcia are in custody and are scheduled to be arraigned next month. Garcia was sentenced in 2000 to six years in prison for a burglary conviction and was released on parole last September. Seymour declined to say what the argument was about. ``It's not gang-related. The crime is gang-related in that the suspects are all from the same gang, but the argument was not gang-related,'' Seymour said. The defendants are believed to be members of an East Los Angeles-based gang that has members in the Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley . Matheu's younger brother Wiki is aware of the following uses of "'Younger Brother":
The u.s. justice department categorizes the crime of carjacking as a "completed or attempted Robbery of a motor vehicle by a stranger that authorities said was an initiation into the gang. Morua, 26, of Lancaster also was a parolee pa·rol·ee n. One who is released on parole. Noun 1. parolee - someone released on probation or on parole probationer . He was sent to prison in 1996 after convictions on assault and weapon charges and originally released on parole in May 1998. He was returned to prison several times before being released on parole again last November, Department of Corrections records show. Matheu's assault conviction stems from two August 2002 drive-by shootings that targeted several witnesses to a shooting in March of that year. The March shooting and the first of the August shootings occurred in front of a house in the 45000 block of Elm Avenue. The second August shooting occurred at a nearby home. Matheu's younger brother, Aaron, 19, and Juan Rodriguez, 21, are awaiting trial on attempted murder In the criminal law, attempted murder is committed when the defendant does an act that is more than merely preparatory to the commission of the crime of murder and, at the time of these acts, the person has a specific intention to kill. charges in the August 2002 shootings. After pleading no contest last April to assault with a firearm and being sentenced to a year in jail, Byron Matheu was placed on three years probation and ordered not to possess firearms. ``I guess he's going to be in violation of his probation,'' said Deputy District Attorney Richard Quinones, who is prosecuting Aaron Matheu and Rodriguez. Aaron Matheu is already serving a sentence of 25 years to life in prison for stealing a parked car from a young couple sitting inside. Prosecutors said the carjacking was a gang-initiation crime in which he was a trainee. A second teen was sentenced to 53 years to life in prison for that carjacking and a second. |
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