Girlfriend and neighbor of slain football player Jamiel Shaw testify in L.A.

The preliminary hearing marks the first time prosecutors have publicly presented evidence in the murder case against a Latino gang member who authorities say gunned down Jamiel Shaw, 17, in March.
By Jack Leonard, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

1:35 PM PDT, June 18, 2008


Pedro Espinosa, 19, accused of gunning down Jamiel Shaw II, a 17-year-old high school student and star football player, appears in court in jail overalls Wednesday for a preliminary hearing. A projector image of Jamiel appears above him in the courtroom.

Two witnesses gave dramatic accounts this morning of how a standout high school football star was gunned down earlier this year near his Los Angeles home, opening a tense courtroom hearing packed with relatives of the victim and the alleged gunman.

Jamiel Shaw II, 17, was talking to his girlfriend on a cellphone when she overheard a voice ask him "Where are you from?" the teenage girl testified. There was no response and then the line went dead, she said.



Jamiel ShawA youth 'on track' until fatal gunfire
Another witness testified that she watched a lone, hooded gunman approach Jamiel on the street near his Arlington Heights home and fire a single shot. When Shaw fell, the gunman walked around him and delivered a final close-range shot to his head, she said.

"I saw the sparks from the gun," said a neighbor of Jamiel's who at one point broke down and cried on the witness stand. "I froze and was in total shock."

As the neighbor spoke, a large photo of a smiling Jamiel beamed down from a projector screen in the courtroom. His mother and father, wearing white T-shirts emblazoned with photos of their son, sat in the front row, occasionally dabbing at their eyes.

"It's hard," said his mother, Army Sgt. Anita Shaw, who was stationed in Iraq when she heard news of Jamiel's death. "It's like we're living it again."

The preliminary hearing in Los Angeles marks the first time prosecutors have presented evidence publicly in their murder case against Pedro Espinoza, a 19-year-old Latino gang member who authorities say was in the country illegally when he allegedly gunned down Jamiel.

The March 2 slaying rekindled a fierce debate over the role that race has played in recent violence against blacks and galvanized opposition to a controversial policy that limits when Los Angeles police officers can inquire about someone's citizenship status.

Espinoza's defense attorney attempted several times during the morning hearing to ask Jamiel's 14-year-old girlfriend whether Jamiel associated with gang members. But following objections from prosecutors, L.A. County Superior Court Judge Bob S. Bowers Jr. would not allow the girl to answer.

jack.leonard@latimes.com

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