Ontario gang member to stand trial in fatal shooting at Colton restaurant

Ontario gang member to stand trial in fatal shooting at Colton restaurant
Mike Cruz, Staff Writer
Created: 07/30/2009 05:26:16 PM PDT


SAN BERNARDINO - An Ontario man was ordered held over for trial Thursday in the shooting death of Robert Chavez Jr. at the controversial La Villa restaurant in Colton.
After listening to testimony from Colton police officers, Judge Kyle Brodie ruled that sufficient evidence existed to hold Ontario gang member Andrew Magallanez in the March 7 death of Chavez at the Valley Boulevard establishment.

Brodie's ruling came during a hearing for Magallanez in San Bernardino Superior Court.

A woman restaurant employee, identified in court as Jane Doe, saw a fight develop in the restaurant's patio and tried to reach her manager when the fighting escalated inside, testified Colton Detective Michael Farcas.

The woman was standing near the entrance, when she saw the shooter - later identified as Magallanez - walk inside and pull a silver handgun from either his waistband or pocket.

"He lifted the gun, pointed it toward the crowd and started firing," Farcas said the employee told him. When the gunfire erupted, she ducked down in a booth.

"She heard approximately seven shots," said Farcas.

A friend of Chavez was playing pool and drinking beers when he saw the fight and the shooting in the restaurant, Detective Jack Moremberg testified. The friend recalled hearing eight to nine gunshots.

"He saw his friend Bobby, referring to Robert Chavez, on the floor inside the bar," said Moremberg. Chavez suffered a gunshot wound to the back and died at the scene.
Magallanez was arrested and charged with murder and attempted murder. The defendant returns to court Aug. 6 to enter a plea on the charges.

Police have video recordings of the incident from outside and inside La Villa.

Deputy District Attorney Cary Epstein and defense lawyer Ron Powell declined to comment after the hearing.

Farcas also talked to a La Villa security guard who had tried to break up the fight on the patio, he said. Someone was slashed with a razor.

The guard had moved inside when the gunfire rang out, and he was shot in the right arm and on the right side, said Farcas. The guard spent several days in the hospital.

The shooter yelled, "Black Angels" after the gunfire, witnesses said. The Black Angels is the top of three tiers of an Ontario street gang, according to Ontario Officer Gabe Gutierrez.

In the days following the shooting, the restaurant re-opened under the name of Olga's, as stated on a sign outside the business.

On March 16, Colton police mailed a notice to the restaurant owners to cease and desist all operations until certain permits were obtained. Officers said the location had received ample warnings and was out of compliance.

A protest was held outside the restaurant on March 27. The following month, a petition with 2,000 signatures was given to the City Council requesting the location not be allowed to operate as a bar or nightclub.

As of Thursday, La Villa/Olga's remained closed.

mike.cruz@inlandnewspapers.com
(909) 386-3880

Paid_in_full wrote:
In the days following the shooting, the restaurant re-opened under the name of Olga's, as stated on a sign outside the business.

The resteraunt even changed it's name up RIGHT after this incident...