Three take plea deals in gang shooting near San Pablo liquor store

RICHMOND — Three men accused of following a perceived gang rival and shooting him five times after he left a San Pablo liquor store took plea deals and sentences ranging from five to 15 years in state prison, prosecutors said.

Jesse Guerra, 21, and Luis Cardenas, 23, accepted convictions of attempted murder and admitted gang involvement in the Aug. 3, 2020 shooting; both received 15-year sentences. Jorge “Koko” Lemus-Chinchilla, 24, accepted an attempted murder conviction without the gang charge and received five years, court records show.

The three were originally charged with conspiracy to murder a man Lemus-Chinchilla allegedly trailed from his house to a Bonfare Market on San Pablo Avenue. He then called Guerra to inform him of their target’s movements. They followed him two blocks from the liquor store and opened fire, striking the victim five times, including in the spine. He was rushed to Highland Hospital in Oakland and listed in critical condition, but survived.

Prosecutors alleged that the three defendants belonged to a San Pablo subset of a Northern California-based gang and shouted out the gang’s initials before the shooting. The victim’s girlfriend told police he belonged to a rival gang that originated in Los Angeles, but has a presence in San Francisco and parts of Contra Costa.

During the investigation, authorities tracked down Instagram accounts for all three defendants and recorded posts with captions that alluded to the gang, videos of the defendants throwing up gang signs, and videos containing rap lyrics that referenced the gang’s specific subset, according to court records. One Instagram video, allegedly posted on an account belonging to Lemus-Chinchilla’s brother, showed San Pablo police detectives serving a search warrant at Cardenas’ home on 18th Street in San Pablo, with the caption that the detectives were “mad they can’t find evidence.”

All three men can reduce their prison terms by up to 15 percent with good behavior, and get credit for the year they spent in pretrial detention in jail, court records show.