An attorney for Isauro Aguirre argued that statements made to the media by Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Hatami following the verdict last Wednesday were evidence of a conflict that would prevent the 37-year-old onetime security guard from getting a fair penalty trial.
“The various statements that the prosecutor made to the media indicating his own experience as a child abuse victim, his display of emotion … wiping tears away from his eyes” were evidence of Hatami’s inability to be “even-handed” in doing his job, according to defense attorney John Alan.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge George Lomeli denied the motion, saying most of what Hatami said outside court had already been said during the trial and that the jury had been instructed not to watch news coverage of the case.
However, Lomeli warned it was “not wise or prudent to make any comments” that could jeopardize the case, adding, “This is not over.”
Aguirre was convicted of first-degree murder and faces a possible death sentence for killing Gabriel Fernandez, who was routinely beaten, shot with a BB gun, forced to eat cat feces and sleep, while gagged and bound, inside a small cabinet. Along with convicting Aguirre of murder, the seven-woman, five- man jury found true a special circumstance allegation of murder involving the infliction of torture.
The penalty phase of the trial — when the panel will be asked to recommend whether Aguirre should be sentenced to death or life in prison without the possibility of parole — is set to begin next Monday.
One witness scheduled to be out of the country during the penalty proceedings testified Monday that she had supervised Aguirre when he worked as a caregiver at a senior assisted living home.
Donna Hogg-Allen said Aguirre was a good employee in a job that required compassion and empathy.
“He was soft-spoken, he listened to what was going on with them,” Hogg-Allen said of Aguirre’s work with residents. “He was just a nice guy, he was pleasant … hard-working.”
Aguirre was a guest at Hogg-Allen’s wedding and also dated her daughter.
When she heard about Gabriel’s death on the news, Hogg-Allen said she was “shocked, stunned, appalled. I just couldn’t believe it. It made no sense to me … (this was) not the person that I knew, not the person that came to my house.”
Hogg-Allen said she couldn’t bear to read about the case, but, during his cross-examination, Hatami offered some details, including that Aguirre had admitted to punching Gabriel in the head 10 times. Then the prosecutor asked if she would be willing to leave her grandchildren in Aguirre’s care.
“Obviously he isn’t capable anymore of caring for anybody,” Hogg-Allen said.
After the verdict was read last week, Hatami embraced the boy’s biological father in court. The prosecutor told reporters later that what the two discussed was “private,” saying, “I’m a dad and he’s a dad.”
“Some justice, I think, has been served by this verdict, and maybe some closure can be felt by Gabriel’s family as far as at least they feel that the system … is trying to make some things right, and maybe this is a small part of that, maybe,” said Hatami, who described himself as a “survivor” of child abuse at age 4 and 5.
One of Aguirre’s attorneys, Michael Sklar, acknowledged during the trial that Aguirre killed the boy, but told jurors in his closing argument the defendant “acted in a rage of anger followed by an explosion of violence” and not with the deliberation and premeditation required for first-degree murder. He argued that jurors should convict his client of the lesser count of second- degree murder.
Hatami called Aguirre an “evil” man who “liked torturing” the boy and did so systematically in the months leading up to the child’s death. The prosecutor began his closing argument by displaying a photo of Gabriel’s battered body lying on an autopsy table — covered in injuries head to toe — as evidence of Aguirre’s intent to kill the boy.
“You can’t believe a person in our society would intentionally murder a child,” Hatami said, comparing the abuse to that suffered by a prisoner of war.
“Believe it, because it happened. This was intentional murder by torture,” he told the jury. “Do not go back in the jury room and make excuses for the defendant … this had nothing to do with drugs … this had nothing to do with mental health issues.”
Hatami said in the months leading up to the boy’s death, Gabriel was “being starved and punched and kicked and abused and beaten … he was belittled, bullied and called gay. His teeth were knocked out. He was tied up every night in a box. … Gabriel was dying.”
The prosecutor painted a picture of Aguirre sleeping in a comfortable bed night after night while, in the same room, Gabriel was bound and gagged inside a small cabinet with a “sock in his mouth, a shoelace (tying) up his hands, a bandanna over his face” and his ankles handcuffed.
He alleged the 6-foot-2, 270-pound defendant punched and kicked Gabriel hard enough to dent the walls of the family’s apartment and leave the boy unconscious, then — with help from the boy’s mother — hid some of the child’s bloody clothing and moved a picture to cover up one of the biggest indentations before calling 911.
The defense contended that Aguirre never meant to kill the child, but Hatami told jurors in his summation of the case that Aguirre hated the boy because he thought the child was gay. The couple only took him from his maternal grandparents so that they could collect welfare payments for his care, the prosecutor said, telling the panel that the defendant “actually liked torturing Gabriel. He got off on it … he is a murderer and he is a torturer.”
Sklar acknowledged “unspeakable acts of abuse over a period of time” by his client, but urged the panel as a matter of law to focus only on the evening of May 22, 2013, when Gabriel endured the beating that caused his death. Aguirre was angry because Gabriel had asked his mother to leave Aguirre and then denied saying so, calling his mother a liar in front of Aguirre, the defense attorney said.
“Isauro exploded in a rage of anger” and later “described his anger as a 20 on a scale of 10” to a detective, Sklar said. “He was completely out of control.”
But once his client realized Gabriel was unconscious, “he immediately took steps to begin to revive him,” the defense attorney said, telling jurors that Aguirre had run cold water over the boy while “repeatedly hollering his name” and told the boy’s mother to call 911 for help.
He said his client realized that a call to 911 would result in his arrest, and described Aguirre’s subsequent statements to investigators as “genuine remorse” for what he had done rather than expressions of self-pity for his own predicament.
The attorney alleged that Gabriel’s mother was the one who hit the boy with a belt, shot him with a BB gun and was responsible for much of the abuse prior to his death.
Los Angeles County Fire Department personnel went to the family’s home in the 200 block of East Avenue Q-10 in Palmdale in response to a call that Gabriel was not breathing. He was declared brain-dead that day and taken off life support two days later.
Aguirre and the boy’s mother have been jailed without bail since being charged in May 2013 with his death. The two were subsequently indicted by a Los Angeles County grand jury.
Two former Los Angeles County social workers — Stefanie Rodriguez and Patricia Clement –– and supervisors Kevin Bom and Gregory Merritt were charged last year with one felony count each of child abuse and falsifying public records in connection with the case.
Previous related stories:
Palmdale man convicted of torture-murder of girlfriend’s 8-year-old son
Jury deliberations underway in trial of man charged in 8-year-old’s death
Closing arguments underway in trial of man charged in 8-year-old’s death
Defense seeks to convince jury of defendant’s remorse in 8-year-old boy’s death
Teacher reported alleged abuse of boy months before his death
Eight BBs recovered from 8-year-old boy’s body after his death
Victim’s brother, sister testify about alleged abuse
Palmdale man’s defense attorney admits client murdered 8-year-old boy
Trial date set for Palmdale couple charged in boy’s beating death
DA to seek death penalty against Palmdale couple in Gabriel’s beating death
L.A. County trying to block return of social worker in Palmdale child abuse death
Accused child killers plead not guilty
Four social workers fired in death of Gabriel
Couple charged with capital murder in death of Palmdale boy
Justice for Gabriel protest, teacher speaks out
Palmdale boy dies after abuse, mother and boyfriend arrested
–
justsayn says
previous articles said there were no drugs involved. no gang affiliation etc. the ass was a homophobe !! whatever the case he needs to pay for his actions. I vote for a town lynching !
Anon says
We should stone him here to death in Palmdale at the city square…lets do this.
Name says
I’m reading a lot of peoples comments and there mainly just wanting to see this guy tortured and put to death…
But, do you ever wonder if this was someone you know, that was a normal person, and now everybody just wants to see him dead. Well, what about wondering who targeted him??? Well, why not wonder why??? Do you think someone just wakes up and is a killer, evil, psycho?? Listen to what his job says about him??? Was he in a gang or are gangsters threaten him??? Believe me, he is NOT going to go tell the sheriff’s..
Too many people went from being non-drug addicts to down right drowned by drugs and alcohol, WHY?? Not because of there 100% own doing??? PEOPLE ARE GETTING AWAY WITH A BEHAVIOR THAT MAY NOT HAVE BEEN DETECTED IN A LOT OF CASE’S. ONCE THEY GOT YOU HOOKED AND UNDER THERE CONTROL, ITS HARD TO GET YOUR CONTROL BACK, UNLESS THEY ARE REMOVED FROM YOUR LIFE, BUT YOU NEED TO WATCH OUT FOR THERE MESSENGER THEY SEND TO DO THERE DIRTY WORK TO KEEP YOU HOOKED ON DRUGS. Then you’ve got some of these con-artist working in the system to make everyone in there believe what they want you to believe about you, so, they can continue to manipulate you for whatever reason? It’s definitely wrong. So, if you notice someone going through stuff, start observing, and really find out, why.. And then ask yourself is this all there own doing or not?? Call the police before it gets too crazy..
Please, don’t just think we have a killer out there. The gangs most likely targeted him and got him on drugs bc someone didn’t like him for whatever reason and sent them out to get him and/or his family, and by him being on drugs, all someone has to do is start them on a role about whatever it is to get them acting like a violent man like this guy did with Gabriel, and in this case if it was Pearl’s father, karma bit him back real quick, bc his plan backfired and he lost his daughter, Pearl and grandson, Gabriel. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you..
aManOfTruth says
I think drugs and alcohol could have a lot to do with this case but I think he did them by his own choice. Although perhaps he didn’t realize the person they would make him become.
Name says
Ok, let me share some things about what I believe is going on.
FIRST: Understand that most of you won’t agree or believe what I’m telling you, but due to the FACT that I KNOW someone that has gone through HELL, and when I hear about this case I truely believe….that this was all due to a problem that is in our Antelope Valley.
It don’t seem like it’s a coincidence that it now happened to this guy, Isauro. I definitely would like to hear your experiences, not your thoughts with a family member or friend or even someone you’ve met here or there and you now notice something different about them…
Because someone told me different things and I witnessed things myself in others.
Society has some things going on that a lot of people may not be aware of, and I wasn’t aware of things to this extent either. But to me there is no way this is completely done on purpose..
A guy I seen go from being normal, riding the bus, maybe smoked weed, was in some college classes and had a job. He would go with his friends and next thing you know there dropping him off at my house. He was completely OUT OF IT, they literally carried and dragged him, I couldn’t say “no” don’t leave him here, because I know him, he was a friend of my kids. Even though they weren’t here and I met his Mom too, so I’m going to help because I always say..I want someone to help my son if this happened to him..treat others the way you want to be treated. So, I had them put him on a bed in the back room, and I debated if I should call 911. I kept an eye on him, and he obviously came around. When he woke up he said he didn’t remember ANYTHING.. These guys were clean dressed, didn’t look like they drank or did drugs. They had a new car, and the guy they dropped off even was saying later, did you see there nice car??, sorry I don’t remember what kind of car it was. But these were black young men with accent, african, Jamaican something like that.
I don’t know what is going on, but it wasn’t right. Ok, so this same guy went off on me and my daughter like he was under the control of a drug. He picked up a TV and tried threw it at me, thank god I was in a spacious room to where I could back up.. Yes, sheriff’s were called. But his Mother came and got him before they got here.
I believe that men and women are being targeted….I believe gangsters are getting paid to get others on drug’s for many different reasons…1. To take advantage of them in different ways.. Steal there money, threaten them, pimp them out, blackmail, con them after there under the influence and take ALL there money and make them believe like they owned it to them…take them somewhere like a party type atmosphere so they can further get them drunk and take there money and there nice shirt they just bought or even there nice shoes.. They will take a MAN and fyck him over BAD!!
I am so close to my kids that they have no problem taking me with them to there friends house, and I don’t drink or do drugs.. I don’t like them smoking weed, thats not a battle I chose to pick against.. Ok, so let me tell you an experience I had, he was helping this guy do some painting, and they would smoke weed. One day my son takes me to his house and we go in, and there is a woman there who I believe was the Man’s wife, and another man in a mechanic jumpsuit who just got off work and was hanging out there drinking and smoking. I guess just unwinding from a days work. Well, the guy probably thought it was all good hanging out with his friend, but I would hear the lady whisper and signal her husband regarding this man, and literally keep feeding him more drink and smoke, and who know if it was laced..Ok, so the next you know his wife go’s to the door and locks it, and gets loud and says “NO ONE’S LEAVING” She’s talking about her owner is out there and she don’t want no leaving, I don’t know for sure what she was trying to do, but I didn’t say anything at first.. The atmosphere changed to be most stressful. After about 10 minutes I get up and say I’m getting out of here forget that…I don’t know what she thinks but I’m NOT apart of any bullshit they may be trying to skeem up…Well, later the guy doesn’t pay my son for painting, and he stopped going around that guy. I try to give people the benefit of the doubt.
I’m saying that once you get manipulated like this mechanic, if you don’t realize it, you will be talking to yourselve, they will threathen you, and think they now have control of you, where they think they can do just about anything to you, and before you know your brainwashed, you can take everything wrong and believe everyone is out to get you…your no longer ALL there…you may go home to your wife and children and wind up beating them up. And if you don’t understand what drugs and alcohol do to a person, you may wind up engaging in an argument with them, which is NEVER a good idea, because they may not be able to control themselves from attacking you.. But hopefully you learn very quickly to NOT engage in conversation, and what I mean is… don’t start picking about this or that…Just leave them alone during the time they are under the influence..Make a plan…Don’t start arguing with them or say your going to leave them etc, you might be putting yourself in danger. When there sober say the most important things you need them to know and thats it, nothing else. Tell them you can’t live like this, that they need to leave or get help, or you call the sheriff’s..period.. You may even save his life from a LIFE SENTENCE. Look what happened to these people…there in jail for killing there son, Gabriel.. I know abgirl who said she died 3-4 times and I believe gangsters were sent out to do it.
Tom says
You obviously have never lived with someone with an addition. Addicts will put their drug of choice over loved ones any day of the week. Yes when sober they will say what you want to hear but when that need comes it over powers their mind. What this man did high or not has earned him the ultimate punishment. The torture lasted so long that he knew very well what was going on and chose to continue it. I hope he feels the same pain and fear that young boy, too young too protect himself felt every day of those last eight months of life.
Tim Scott says
Tom, based on your comment here you seem to think “all addicts are alike.” That seems like a pretty broad brush simplification. Is that what you are really going for here?
Alexis says
Tom, there are senior citizens that are addicted and don’t know, simply because they are given meds the all knowing doctor prescribes. Millions of people are enslaved by an addiction, such as gambling, consumerism, opioids, etc.. This person will pay for the crime he has committed, whether he was on drugs or not.
Tim Scott says
Makes you wonder how much of the “dementia” epidemic is really just the fact that so many elderly people are loaded to the gills.
Alexis says
Exactly! The onset of dementia by overmedication is a huge problem. Not all, but too many.
Tim Scott says
I’m not sure the “dementia” is even real. I’ve met some elderly people who thought they were “having elder moments” and needed to be managed accordingly…and those “elder moments” looked very much like the same thing people I used to know had, only they always just said “I’m really high.”
Alexis says
I also forgot to mention alcohol (drug), in which millions of people are addicted. Addiction is very damaging on a personal level, and damaging collectively, in this nation. We are paying the price in this self-indulgent society.
Tom says
There is no punishment that i can see that fits the torture that poor boy went through. Death is a quick painless escape. I wish this guy could feel the pain, torture, and fear he put in that poor boy. Life in prison would be a shame, due to his crime he would never be in GP due to the threats on his life. I have ideas, but there not legal. I say if he gets death dont tell him when its happening, allow him to live each day with fear is tomorrow the day, even though we all know he’ll die from natural causes since this state officials have no common sense or ever do what is right.
George says
This guy the death ,all the others county workers jail time mother life in prison we have drag this out too long