Gang member sentenced to 60 years to life in friend's death

By RACHANEE SRISAVASDI
The Orange County Register
Friday, April 3, 2009

Jose Juvenal Camino was convicted of second-degree murder in January.

SANTA ANA – A Santa Ana gang member was sentenced to 60 years to life in prison today for the death of his friend during a gang shooting.

Jose Juvenal Camino of Garden Grove was convicted in January of second-degree murder for the Sept. 30, 2007, shooting of Rolando Palacios.

The two friends were drinking beer outside a convenience store when rival gang members came up to them, according to Deputy District Attorney Mark Geller.

The men started arguing, and Palacios shot at the other men, Geller said. The rival gang members fled, and Camino, Palacios and another friend named Miguel Angel Martinez followed in a car. The chase ended in a nearby alley, Geller said, where Palacios was shot and killed

Camino and Martinez were charged with Palacio's murder under the "provocative act" murder theory, which means a dead man's friend can be charged in a death if the dead man had initiated the altercation, Geller said.

In this case, Palacios initiated the incident by shooting first, he said.

Today, Palacios' sister, Monica, spoke on behalf of her family, and told Superior Court Judge John Conley that the family visits her brother's grave weekly.

Rolando Palacios was attending college, and wanted to go into real estate, she said.

"My brother was a really good kid,'' said Monica Palacios, crying as she spoke. "He had goals and dreams. We loved him so much."

Last month, a jury deadlocked on similar charges against Martinez, another of Palacios' friends charged with murder for his death.

Geller said he intends to retry that case. A pretrial hearing is scheduled for May 1.

Contact the writer: 714-834-3773 or rsrisavasdi@ocregister.com

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