DA to seek death for 4 killing crew defendants

By Dana Littlefield
Originally published December 17, 2010 at 12:22 p.m., updated December 17, 2010 at 5:50 p.m.

SAN DIEGO — Prosecutors announced Friday that they will seek the executions of three more men accused of committing several kidnappings and killings in San Diego County on behalf of a criminal organization called Los Palillos.

Four defendants in the case now face the death penalty, if convicted.

Juan Francisco Estrada-Gonzalez, 31, Edgar Frausto Lopez, 36, and Jorge Salvador Moreno, 40, have each pleaded not guilty to felony charges including murder and kidnapping for ransom.

Two weeks ago, prosecutors said they would seek the death penalty for Jorge Rojas Lopez, 31, who has pleaded not guilty to similar charges.

A spokesman for District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis said her office has never sought the death penalty for this many defendants in a single case or group of related cases. Others in the legal community said they couldn’t recall a similar situation in San Diego County in decades.

Dumanis said she evaluated each defendant separately and met with defense attorneys and family members before making her decisions.

Rojas and Estrada-Gonzalez already have kidnapping convictions from a 2008 raid on a Chula Vista home where a businessman was held for eight days. They each were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The other two defendants are serving prison terms in connection with the attempted murder of a Chula Vista police officer in 2005.

Prosecutors contend that Los Palillos, Spanish for “toothpicks,â€