‘Not all killings are criminal’ defense says in Oakland double-murder case
OAKLAND — Two men were sitting in a car, smoking and waiting for a friend to come out of his house, when at least one man approached them, shooting them to death.
Although the prosecution alleges the crime was first-degree murder, the defendant’s attorney claims it was self-defense. Neither side offered a motive, or reasoning why the defendant approached the two men to begin with, in the otherwise senseless act.
“Not all killings are criminal,” said well-known defense attorney Michael Cardoza Monday morning in opening statements of the trial. “If David Vigil didn’t do what he did, he would be dead.”
Vigil, 35, is charged in the killing of Jorge Salazar-Gonzalez, 24, and Edward Miranda-Castillo, 31, who were fatally shot Sept. 24, 2015 around 11:30 p.m. in a car parked on the 2000 block of Crosby Avenue in the Fruitvale district. Vigil is charged with the special circumstances of multiple murder, meaning if convicted, he could face life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Salazar-Gonzalez shot back, the bullet striking Vigil in the shoulder. Police linked him to the fatal shooting after he showed up at the hospital with the wound.
Alameda County Deputy District Attorney Butch Ford asked the jury of 12 to hold Vigil accountable “for murdering two people who were just minding their own business.”
Both victims were friends who had just gotten off of work at a Red Boy’s pizza parlor in Oakland, and were in the car smoking marijuana and waiting for their friend to hang out. Unbeknownst to them, their friend had fallen asleep playing video games inside his home, and later awoke to the news that his friends had been gunned down, Ford said.
“If the defendant hadn’t been driving around, looking for something, they would still be here,” Ford said in his opening statements Monday.
The entire incident was caught on a video surveillance, depicting grainy black and white footage of a car approaching the silver BMV that Salazar-Gonzalez and Miranda-Castillo were sitting in.
“That video is why we’re here,” Ford said. Cardoza agreed in his statements, similarly saying: “This case comes down to that video.”
In the video, a vehicle is seen approaching, Vigil gets out, closes the door and approaches the parked BMV. But then Vigil gets back in to his car to move it out of the way, as another vehicle behind him needed to get by. After moving the car, Vigil gets out again, and seems to have a conversation with the man sitting in the driver’s seat of the parked BMV (Salazar-Gonzalez). Then, multiple gunshots are exchanged, and Vigil and his passenger flee. The passenger has never been identified.
Cardoza told the jury if his client was looking to commit first-degree murder, why didn’t he act quickly in shooting them right away when he first approached him. He pointed out that Vigil closed his car door, as if he wasn’t planning for a quick escape.
“Why put yourself in harms way?” Cardoza asked the jury.
Salazar-Gonzalez, the victim, had a gun which he fired twice. The gun was found by police on his lap when they happened upon the scene.
In a photo shown to the jury, both men were slumped over in their seats, blood visible on their faces and clothes. Miranda-Castillo was shot in the head, Salazar-Gonzalez in the face. As their photo was shown in the courtroom Monday, some family members in the audience wiped away tears.
Cardoza also questioned who fired first, stating that “at best, it was simultaneous.” He states his client was in a “flight or fight” motivation for his life, and fired back to preserve his own life.
The case continues in the courtroom of Alameda County Superior Court Judge Kevin Murphy.