SAN JOSE — A jury convicted three men of murder in the 2017 death of a beloved Little League coach who was fatally stabbed over a confiscated driver’s license while working security at a downtown bar.
After a trial that spanned more than two months, jurors on Friday found 26-year-old Santos Trevino, 32-year-old Joseph Esquivel, and 29-year-old Aaron Vallejo guilty of second-degree murder in the killing of 35-year-old Frank Navarro. The three were also found guilty of assault with a deadly weapon on Navarro and assaulting another security guard who Navarro was helping.
The jury exonerated a fourth defendant, 25-year-old Andrew Cervantes, who was described by defense attorneys as a “peacemaker” who did not participate in the Feb. 26, 2017 confrontation that ended with Navarro mortally wounded.
During the trial that began in July for the four defendants, testimony and arguments centered around whether the response by Trevino, Joseph Esquivel, Cervantes and Vallejo entailed the planning necessary to make them collectively culpable for murder even though Trevino was the only person who definitively stabbed Navarro. Another major source of argument revolved around whether the foursome’s gang affiliations inherently made it a gang crime subject to more severe charges.
The jury roundly rejected gang enhancements and standalone gang charges, which defense attorneys characterized as an instance of overcharging based on who the defendants were.
Jurors also failed to agree on a verdict for a charge that the group assaulted a third security guard, and an attempted robbery charge alleging they forcefully tried take back a confiscated ID from security guards.
The verdict concluded a more than four-year process — the bar where it happened has since closed — that saw two of the six people indicted for Navarro’s killing reach plea deals and Navarro’s family and friends waiting for someone to be held to account. Navarro’s death sent shockwaves through East San Jose, an Overfelt High School alum and well-known coach who at the time of his death was president of the Eastridge Little League, where he was coached as a youth by his grandfather.
There is general consensus that on the night of Feb. 26, 2017, Joseph Esquivel, Santos Trevino’s brother, and his sister Percella Esquivel had tried to get into Tres Gringos Cabo Cantina on Second Street. Joseph Esquivel used makeup to conceal a face tattoo that would have violated the entry policy for the bar, and presented Trevino’s driver’s license to a security guard at the door.
The security guard confiscated the license after deciding it was being fraudulently used, and refused to return it to the Esquivels. The pair called their friends and eventually a red Buick pulled up with four men — Trevino, Cervantes, Ruiz and Vallejo — got out, though Ruiz went back to the car soon after.
Trevino and the others walked up to the security guard who now had his ID, threatened him, and even tried to reach into the guard’s pockets, spurring a physical struggle. Navarro, the security manager, came over and tried to intervene, and at some point Trevino reportedly pulled out a pocket knife and stabbed Navarro in the body and neck.
With Navarro mortally wounded, Vallejo got back into the car and fled with Ruiz, while the others ran away. Vallejo and Ruiz were arrested that night a few miles away in West San Jose. A few days later, Trevino was located in Rocklin, outside Sacramento, and in the ensuing few days the Esquivels and Cervantes were arrested.
The six original defendants were indicted in January 2018. Percella Esquivel reached a plea agreement that dropped her murder charge and resulted in her convictions for attempted robbery and three counts of assault with a deadly weapon. Ruiz pleaded to counts of attempted robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, street gang participation, and evading a police officer.
Deputy District Attorney Lance Daugherty contended that the evidence suggested a preplanned coordinated attack, while defense attorneys Jeff Dunn, Mondonna Mostofi, and Dan Mayfield — representing Joseph Esquivel, Vallejo and Cervantes, respectively — argued that the group’s only intention heading to the bar was getting back Trevino’s ID card.
The defense attorneys portrayed Cervantes trying to cool tensions, and that Joseph Esquivel punching one of the security guards was an assault, but fell well short of any intent to kill. Mostofi contended that Vallejo was misidentified by witnesses and was not involved in the attack. She also cautioned jurors against drawing on their gang ties to justify holding all of them responsible for Trevino’s deadly act, which he reportedly admitted to his wife after they fled San Jose.
This is a developing story. Check back later for updates.