A Yolo County jury returned guilty verdicts last week against two men accused of taking part in a violent 2009 gang attack.
Jose Rodolfo Rivas, 24, and Aaron Anthony Valadez, 22, face life in prison after being convicted of aggravated mayhem with gang enhancements and robbery, according to the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office.
The case stems from an incident shortly after midnight on Sept. 20, 2009, in which the male victim was assaulted after driving a friend to a convenience store on County Road 102 and Interstate 5 in Woodland.
Prosecutors said as the victim waited for his friend, a group that included the two defendants “swarmed” the victim’s car, then punched and kicked him as he was seated inside.
At one point, Rivas got into the front passenger seat of the car and slashed the victim from his ear to his chin as Valadez held the driver’s side door shut, preventing the victim’s escape, prosecutors said. The assault was seen by several witnesses and captured on the store’s surveillance camera.
Two police gang experts testified during “the violent attack on the victim was the type of attack that is committed by Norteño gang members to enhance their reputation and promote criminal conduct by gang members,” the DA’s office said in a news release.
Defense attorneys reportedly argued that the victim’s friend triggered the assault by making derogatory comments about some women who were with the defendants.
Rod Beede, who represents Valadez, said the jury convicted his client as an aider and abetter in the attack, even though there was no proof Valadez knew the people involved or knew an assault was occurring.
The surveillance video shown during the trial “clearly showed he never touched the victim,” Beede said. “It was a very disappointing verdict.”
Rivas’ attorney, Robert Spangler, could not be reached for comment. A third defendant in the case, Matthew Martin, was convicted at trial in July 2011.
Sentencing in the case is scheduled for Oct. 17 before Yolo Superior Court Judge Stephen Mock, who presided over the two-week trial.
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or (530) 747-8048. Follow her on Twitter @laurenkeene