Marco Antonio Quintanilla, charged with being an adjunct to an October 2021 killing in Fairfield involving his sister, took the witness stand Thursday, testifying that he advised investigators every part he knew concerning the crime.
His lawyer, Laurie Savill of San Francisco, requested Quintanilla if his sister, Jessica Yesenia Quintanilla, advised him on Oct. 31 that “We killed someone.”
Marco Quintanilla regarded the assertion as joke, he mentioned in the course of the afternoon session in Division 11 of Solano County Superior Court docket in Fairfield.
Jessica Quintanilla, 24, of Pittsburg, allegedly shot and killed Leilani Beauchamp, 19, of Carmel, on the morning of Oct. 30 whereas she was mendacity in mattress with Juan Parra-Peralta, whom Quintanilla as soon as had a romantic relationship. Her brother, 30, additionally of Pittsburg, is on trial on the similar time and faces the accent allegation.
He acknowledged a brand new shovel bought by his sister and Parra-Peralta at a San Jose Residence Depot, along with a semi-automatic handgun bought earlier in October, ended up in Marco Quintanilla’s Pittsburg residence afterward Oct. 30.
He advised Savill, responding throughout her direct examination, that he was not have taken the gun or shovel had he recognized they have been concerned in a criminal offense.
Court docket information present Jessica Quintanilla and Parra-Peralta, then a 21-year-old airmen stationed at Travis Air Drive Base on the time, transported Beauchamp’s physique, wrapped in a blanket, and dumped down a hillside off a considerably rural street close to Salinas in Monterey County later within the day on Oct. 30.
Upon cross-examination, Deputy District Legal professional Ilana Shapiro who has led the prosecution in the course of the month-long trial, solid doubts about Marco Quintanilla’s statements to Fairfield police investigators after his arrest on Nov. 1.
She pressed Marco Quintanilla about whether or not he positioned the gun in his residence or left it in Parra-Peralta’s automotive and whether or not he said to investigators throughout a jail interview that his sister was “the last person to touch the gun,” together with her asserting that he modified his testimony.
All through her questioning Shapiro repeatedly advised Marco Quintanilla that he was mendacity, together with, primarily based on earlier testimony from Parra-Peralta, about this assertion: “If something happens to her, something will happen to you.”
He denied making the assertion.
Marco Quintanilla additionally was not sure if his sister mentioned to him, “We shot someone,” or “He shot someone.”
Displaying Marco Quintanilla cellphone information on Oct. 30 and 31, Shapiro additionally confirmed that he was in frequent contact together with his sister all through the day and into the early hours of the next day, Halloween.
But additionally continuously, Marco Quintanilla responded to Shapiro’s questions by saying, “I don’t remember.”
Shapiro’s cross-examination of Jessica Quintanilla on Wednesday pressured the defendant to confess she was hungover from partying the earlier night time and upset at her former boyfriend.
Quintanilla testified she argued with Parra-Peralta however denied she was screaming, as Shapiro mentioned, including that she was “loud.”
Shapiro repeatedly pressed Quintanilla about her reminiscence of what occurred simply earlier than a single bullet entered Beauchamp’s head, killing her.
Beauchamp, mentioned Shapiro, was bare in mattress, weak, didn’t have a weapon, and was not threatening, Quintanilla confirmed.
However boring in on Quintanilla’s doable way of thinking, Shapiro asserted that Quintanilla was indignant at seeing Parra-Peralta with a girl she advised him “not to hang around with” and to not submit something on social media about Beauchamp. The prosecutor confirmed Quintanilla printed copies of textual content threads on social media.
Protection lawyer William Alan Welch objected to Shapiro’s line of questioning and the introduction of the textual content threads, citing relevance and an Proof Code part that offers the courtroom discretion to exclude such proof if it causes undue prejudice, confuses the problems or misleads the jury. Decide William J. Pendergast sustained Welch’s objection.
If convicted, Jessica Quintanilla faces 25 years to life in jail and maybe extra time for using a firearm. And, if convicted of the felony allegation, Marco Quintanilla, who after his arrest in 2021 posted bail and was launched, might resist three years in jail, relying on the circumstances of the case, and maybe extra time for being a beforehand convicted felon and violation of his parole.
The trial resumes at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday in Division 11 within the Justice Middle in Fairfield.
Initially Revealed: November 11, 2024 at 8:13 AM PST
